Korrina and the Black Eagles
by Kurosaki 1005
Summary: What if the main character of 3 Houses actually had a personality and detailed interactions with everyone
1. A New Beginning

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

Life as a mercenary was never truly easy. There's not much stability, room for making friends outside the group or even guarantee that this next job would not end in death. Said life is even harder when you have heart problems. Take Korrina for example. For as long as she or her father Jeralt could remember, Korrina has always had a weak heart. If she did not take the right medication each day, Korrina would pass out. If she ate the wrong food, it would accumulate in Korrina's heart chamber and cause her to have a miniature heart attack. If she overexerted herself while fighting, training, etc., Korrina would have a miniature heart attack and pass out. Even getting intensely emotional ran the risk of overloading poor Korrina's heart. This did not mean that Korrina was useless, though. She was an excellent tactician, maintained her physique to the best of her abilities and could handle herself competently in a fight. For those reasons, Jeralt always believed that his daughter's condition could be worked around. What couldn't be worked around, though, was the voice inside Korrina's head. Korrina often described this voice as belonging to a young lady named Sothis and even claimed to see this child in her dreams. Jeralt often entertained these visions to help with his daughter's mental health, but just as often warned Korrina to keep this detail between them. If the wrong people learned of Sothis, they'd deem Korrina insane and lock her up (and mental institutions were far from great on the continent they lived). For 21 years, Korrina lived with her father's mercenary group: ceaselessly travelling from job to job while also maintaining Sothis and her heart to the best of her abilities. One faithful night, however, Korrina would meet a young woman who would change her life for better and worse.

It was a nice evening in what we could call March. Jeralt and Korrina had made a quick stop in Remire village when the word got out of a bandit attack. Soon after leaving to assess the situation, Korrina and Jeralt happened upon 3 youths roughly 3 to 4 years younger than Korrina. The first was a white-haired lady with an aura of authority. It was clear from the way she walked and spoke that this lady was of some level of authority, and she was never afraid to assert dominance when necessary. The second was a boy with blond hair and blue eyes. He acted much kinder and polite than the lady but seemed to hide a level of instability. The last was a dark-skinned man radically different than the other two. Unlike his peers, this man almost completely seemed devoid of urgency yet also seemed more aware of the bigger picture than the other two combined. Regardless of their background or demeanor, however, it was clear that these 3 were the bandits' main target.

Because the bandits did not appear particularly skilled at fighting (nor did they have any powerful weapons), Korrina was allowed to fight on the frontlines so long as she didn't loose control of the situation. Thankfully, the 3 youths had weapons of their own and about as much training as Korrina herself (even if their real-world experience paled in comparison), so they were also allowed to fight. Jeralt originally did not take them seriously, but once the boy with the blonde hair started fighting, he cleaned shop with a level of bloodlust that dwarfed even the bandits in comparison. Eventually, this display of bloodlust flushed out the leader of the bandits. Their leader was much stronger than his goons, and the boy had taken too much damage during his little rampage to effectively stand a chance in single combat. Thus, Korrina had the boy whisked to safety against his own will while her and the other girl engaged the bandit leader together. Their combined prowess was enough to eventually subdue the brute, but just when the other lady dropped her guard, the bandit leader recovered and went in for the kill. Acting on impulse, Korrina shielded her new partner and took the full brunt of the desperation attack.

As Korrina blacked out, she began to see Sothis once more. The "relationship" between Sothis and Korrina was never a cordial one, but this time, Sothis was a lot madder at Korrina than usual. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Korrina almost got the two of them killed over a stranger. After a few minutes of scolding, Sothis eventually started to talk about how she had stopped time and saved them both. As most people would, Korrina initially did not believe Sothis's words. This aggravated Sothis enough to "prove her power" by rewinding time to the moment after Korrina and the other young lady defeated the bandit leader. Korrina was initially shocked to still be alive, but she immediately realized what needed to be done and chased away the bandit leader before he could mortally wound her again.

This display clearly impressed the 3 youths, but Korrina was more interested in the power that Sothis had just displayed. "How could I convince Sothis to let me use that power", Korrina thought to herself as a group of knights led by a large and loud man arrived to ensure the youths' safety. The commander recognized Jeralt immediately and reintroduced himself as Alois with much enthusiasm. Jeralt was more than a little annoyed to be dealing with Alois once again, but Korrina was strangely drawn to the man's upbeat nature and hearty attitude. On a whim, Alois decided (without consulting anyone) that it would be a good idea to bring Jeralt and Korrina to "the monastery" for their heroism. Jeralt was visibly displeased, but Korrina never saw a monastery before and was intensely curious to see one. Without hesitation, Korrina accepted Alois's offer, and Jeralt reluctantly followed suit.

On the way to the monastery, the 3 youths came up to Korrina to get to know their savior a little more. However, their praise eventually turned to bickering over who was the least competent in that skirmish. Through a long string of context clues, Korrina was able to figure out that all 3 of them were nobility of some kind. None of the 3 denied it, and Korrina immediately knelt before them as it was the only way she knew how to address nobles. The gesture was enough to get the 3 to stop fighting amongst themselves for the time, and they each introduced themselves. The woman was Lady Edelgard of the Adestrian Empire, the blonde man was prince Dimitri of Faerghus and the dark-skinned man was Claude of the Leicester Alliance. However, it wasn't long before each of the 3 nobles tried to recruit Korrina into their respective territory. Korrina was visibly taken aback by how sudden this turn of events was, but after a brief period of thought, she decided that she was more comfortable working for Edelgard for the time being. Thankfully, neither of the two men were deeply offended by Korrina's decision. Together, Korrina, her father, Alois and the 3 nobles rode back to the monastery, only one of which aware of the tumultuous year that awaited them.


	2. Welcome to Garreg Mach

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 2: Welcome to Garreg Mach

The ride to the monastery lasted the full night. If Jeralt had not remembered to bring some heart medication for his daughter, it would have been dangerous as well. Most of the people were tired by the end of the ride, but somehow Claude was able to keep talking the whole way through. When he wasn't flirting with Korrina or trying to make her change her mind about serving Edelgard, he was talking about the monastery and all the people that Korrina would meet. Sometimes Korrina just wanted to spend some time without Claude talking in her ear. Other times she enjoyed his musings and wondered if all he said was true. When the journey ended and everyone reached the monastery, Korrina was mesmerized. It was by far the most spectacular work of architecture that she had ever seen, with towers, chapels, and facilities as far as the eye could see. As they got closer to the monastery, Korrina also began to feel an overwhelmingly powerful aura unlike anything she ever seen before. As she entered, Korrina looked up to see a beautiful woman with green hair and eyes looking specifically at her. There was no doubt: this woman was the source of that aura, and she had plans for Korrina.

After a long rest in what would eventually become their new home, Jeralt and Korrina were summoned before the headmaster of this monastery. As they waited, Jeralt finally let his daughter know of the main religion of their continent. Said religion was called the religion of Seiros, the institution they stood in was the center of power in that religion called Garreg Mach, and its leader was that woman from earlier: Archbishop Rhea. Rhea and a stern man with even greener hair named Seteth then entered the room and started conversing with Jeralt. From the sound of things, Jeralt used to work for them as a knight but left for reasons neither side felt like disclosing (a fact that somewhat annoyed Korrina). Eventually, Rhea and Seteth turned to Korrina to thank her for saving their students. Jeralt scoffed at Rhea's comments, and this mildly angered Korrina. Yes, it was a little soon to know if Rhea could be trusted, but she had also been nothing but kind to them so far, and Jeralt's behavior seemed hypocritically inappropriate for the situation. "Really, dad?" Korrina said to her father, "after telling me to respect our superiors for so long, you're gonna spit on this woman's gratitude?" Korrina then turned to Rhea and said, "forgive my father's rudeness, archbishop. I don't know what happened between you two, but that's in the past." Rhea was pleased with Korrina's words and prayed that the three of them could work together for a brighter future.

As the day passed, Jeralt remained a bit embarrassed that he had to be called out by his own child but was able to retain his composure enough to inform his daughter that Rhea had given her a teaching position. Korrina was unsure why they would give the position to her since she had no experience in that position (Jeralt even made sure to voice his suspicions to Korrina), but Korrina decided that it might be a good opportunity to learn things that she would never have learned as a mercenary (she wasn't formally educated after all). Before long, 2 older people joined Korrina and Jeralt. One was a scholarly researcher named Hanneman and the other was a seductive nurse named Manuela. Introductions went fine until Manuela told Korrina she was "available". Hanneman groaned and facepalmed at his cohort's lack of restraint while Korrina got intensely flustered and said, "you do realize I'm 20 years younger than you right". This response caused Manuela to shift attitude on a dime and say, "Did you suggest I'm old? I'll have you know that I was once the star of a renowned opera company-" thankfully for Korrina, Hanneman cut off his old colleague and informed Korrina that she would be given control over one of 3 houses: The Black Eagles (Edelgard's class), The Blue Lions (Dimitri's class), or the Golden Deer (Claude's class). Of course, Rhea would allow Korrina to actually get to know everyone first before making her decision, and the 2 she didn't pick would go to Hanneman and Manuela. The next morning, Korrina would no longer be a mercenary: she would be a professor, and eventually much more.

The next morning, Korrina went to explore her new home a little. Rhea was quite accommodating of Korrina's bad heart, sending a month's worth of medication to her room first thing in the morning. Since Korrina had unofficially pledged allegiance to Edelgard before arriving at Garreg Mach, she had already made up her mind about joining the Black Eagles. However, she still felt a need to get to know all the people she would be working with. The first person Korrina saw was Edelgard, who seemed concerned and disappointed that Korrina's new position would somehow bar her from working with the empire. However, Korrina reassured Edelgard that this would only be a temporary occupation and that she would eventually leave once Edelgard ascended the throne to better assist her in the long run. This seemed to comfort Edelgard, and with this, Korrina went on to meet the other students in The Black Eagles: a vampiric individual with pale skin and dark hair named Hubert, a pompous yet caring noble with orange hair named Ferdinand, a lazy and apathetic man with long green hair named Linhardt, an excitable youth with cyan hair named Caspar, a skittish recluse with messy purple hair named Bernadetta, a talented songstress named Dorothea, and a determined "guest" named Petra. Korrina was also able to hit it off with several other students and even the local gatekeeper. The only sources of concern were a redheaded womanizer named Silvain who was determined to get with Korrina and an extraordinarily rude man called Jeritza who wanted almost nothing to do with anyone he didn't have business with. When the time came for Korrina to make her choice, she made almost no hesitation to say the Black Eagles. Korrina promised to serve the Adestrian Empire after all. After a brief interruption by Seteth's baby sister Flayn, Seteth informed Korrina of a future mock battle between the 3 houses next month and warned her that he would be using this battle to evaluate her skills. Just one day in and the pressure was already on.

As the first day of classes rolled around, Korrina finally revealed to her new students that she would be leading the Black Eagles from now on. A few of the students were shocked at this turn of events, but quickly came to accept her as their new professor. Unfortunately, Linhardt and Bernadetta were feeling less than cooperative that day, and Ferdinand's indignation at their insubordination led to a small riot. Korrina, however, wasn't in the mood to have this be how her first day would go and quickly slammed her sword on a floor to get everyone's attention. Although Korrina's heart began to flare after her little display of newfound authority, she was still able to push through and inform her new students of the upcoming mock battle. For Linhardt and Bernadetta's attitude that day, their participation in that battle was made mandatory and Korrina would be making sure they pulled their weight. Korrina wondered if she went a bit far that day, but her decisive response to that situation combined with the fact that she was soldiering through an obviously severe health problem all the while actually earned her the respect of her students. Since Korrina was not a true teacher yet, the first month was a largely uneventful series of training sessions while Korrina learned how to actually be a teacher from Manuela and occasionally snuck off to help with Hanneman's crest research. As the mock battle drew closer, Korrina began to exude more confidence in her ability to win this mock battle and told nearly everyone she would prevail. Admittedly, this was just a mask to prevent anyone close to Seteth from interpreting Korrina as weak. It may just have been another mock battle for Hanneman and Manuela, but Korrina's job was on the line here. If she didn't do well here, her entire future could go up in smoke (or at least that is how she perceived it). After a brief strategy meeting, the 3 houses converged on the field outside Garreg Mach for the much-awaited mock battle.

Korrina's main plan for this battle was to assign the Black Eagles into a formation and never break from it no matter what. Korrina's initial plan was to charge the Blue Lions since she saw Dimitri as the biggest threat, but halfway through, the Golden Deer jumped out of the forest and attacked both sides. This caused Korrina to make a slight detour and take out Claude first. The task was mildly difficult since the Blue Lions were beginning to close the distance, but once Claude revealed his position, it became easy to rush and overwhelm the lad. Once Claude was defeated, the rest of the Golden Deer lost confidence and followed suit. Korrina then had her class take the forest Claude was using and ambush the Blue Lions from inside of it. For all their complaining at the start, Bernadetta was able to snipe most of the enemies from a distance and Linhardt proved an effective healer. Once everyone was gone, Edelgard challenged Dimitri to single combat and won. Korrina had fulfilled her promise and won the mock battle, and everyone was impressed with her efficiency in doing so. Unfortunately, things would not be so rosy going forward.


	3. More Than a Voice

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 3: More than a Voice

As the stress of having to do well in the mock battle began to wear off, Korrina started looking to the future and what she wanted to do during her time at Garreg Mach. During the victory party the night after the mock battle, Korrina pulled aside Lady Edelgard and proposed an idea. "How about we start a sisterhood?" Korrina said to Edelgard. Edelgard didn't seem to understand, so Korrina explained further. "During my time as a mercenary, Jeralt and I always moved from place to place. I never had the time to develop any real relationship with another woman my age, and I'd like to give others here at Garreg Mach an opportunity to make those connections that I couldn't." Edelgard seemed to understand, as she too did not have many friends growing up (life as a noblewoman is surprisingly isolationist, after all) and desired a similar form of companionship. Thus, the Garreg Mach Women's Association was formed. Korrina and Edelgard were the founding members, and Dorothea and Petra were extremely quick to join as well. Bernadetta was a bit harder to recruit due to her social anxiety, but she would occasionally stop by to see what was going on. Overall, the Garreg Mach Women's association would become the crux of Korrina's time at Garreg Mach and a much-needed support net for the trials yet to come.

The next day, Korrina finally decided to go into slightly further detail with Hanneman as to the nature of those "crests" he would often speak of. After his usual spiel about how crests are divine powers passed through the bloodline, Hanneman turned to Korrina and said that her outstanding performance in the mock battle had led him to believe that she may have a crest of her own. Korrina was not as passionate about crests as Hanneman was, but she was still a bit curious to see if this crest research would reveal anything about herself. Much to Korrina's relief, Hanneman's method of investigating crests was a simple act of putting one's hand over a screen as opposed to anything perverted or inhumane (if it were, Korrina would have flipped out on him in an instant). To neither party's surprise, Hanneman did uncover a crest within Korrina. The fact that Hanneman had never seen this type of crest design began to spark Korrina's interest in the subject as well, and the two immediately began digging through every book and blueprint Hanneman ever owned to see if there was ANY sort of crest related to the one Korrina possessed. Before they could make much headway, however, Seteth arrived to bring Korrina to Rhea's chambers at once. Korrina was a bit disappointed at the timing of Rhea's request but promised Hanneman that she would stay in touch with him. Similarly, Hanneman promised Korrina that he would report to her if she made a breakthrough.

The meeting with Rhea started out as another congratulations of Korrina's decisive victory in the mock battle, but then Seteth informed Korrina that there would be an even bigger one in what we would call October. "You're not gonna let me catch a break, are you?" Korrina said with a sigh. Seteth replied by saying "It was better to tell you early so that you would have the necessary time to prepare your students and not embarrass the academy." Korrina was far from pleased about the fact that Seteth was still being so critical of her, but at least she did not feel the same "get this right or you're fired" vibe that she had from him last month. Rhea then told Korrina of her mission for the month: to dispose of some bandits causing trouble. Korrina had often disposed of bandits as part of her previous life as a mercenary. Korrina had no doubts about her ability to handle this task, but the fact that she had to bring her students into a life or death situation was a mild cause for concern. The only thing Rhea had to say in response was that Korrina had already proven her skills as a commander in the mock battle and thus the chances of actually losing someone in such a small-scale task should be minimal. This was not the type of answer that Korrina was looking for, but she got the feeling that Rhea was never going to give a satisfactory answer for such a grey matter, so she accepted the request and left without another word.

On the way out, Sothis was quick to make parallels between the mission Korrina was just assigned and the bandits she had to fight off to get her future in the first place. Sothis was also quick to remind Korrina about how she nearly died protecting Edelgard from one of those bandits and once again rub that "act of foolishness" in Korrina's face. Korrina desperately wanted to tell Sothis to let it go already, but she couldn't say it out loud for fear of making a scene, so she did what she had been doing for the past month and gave Sothis the silent treatment. It always aggravated Sothis whenever Korrina refused to respond, but since Sothis technically lived inside Korrina, she could technically just read her host's mind and figure out what Korrina was thinking that way. "You're really tired of me bringing that up, aren't you?", Sothis playfully asked, "Don't worry. Don't make such a fool out of yourself this time, and I might be inclined to drop it." This gave Korrina some bit of relief, but before she could get dgoing again, Sothis said "One more thing. You can't just freeze up every time I start talking to you. People will think there's something wrong with you". "I know", Korrina sighed as she went back to her room.

The next day, Korrina found a mildly unpleasant surprise waiting for her. Silvain had somehow found a way to transfer into her class, and the reason why was quite obvious: he still wanted to get with Korrina. There was no way that Korrina would just start dating a student, but Silvain was able to get through a day of class without any further incident, so she kept him in for the time being. As for everyone else, Korrina began working on long term goals. Korrina decided that Edelgard and Dorothea would become great sorceresses, so she taught them the basics of using magic. Linhardt would continue down the road of healing, while Bernadetta was given practice in horseback riding so she could easily get in, snipe a few enemies with her bow, then get back out before the going got tough. Caspar was given plenty of practice in wielding axes since they complemented his large strength and he seemed to adjust to using them easily. Ferdinand probably got the toughest training as Korrina personally worked night and day with him to increase his build so he could wear heavy armor and better protect everyone later on. Petra was a much harder case as she didn't have a specific talent like the rest, but she was fast and decisive with both a sword and axe, so Korrina decided to keep working with Petra on those areas and see if a road popped up later. Hubert was an exceptional mage, but Korrina saw how well he could use a lance and kept him training in that department much to Hubert's exasperation. By the time Korrina was ready to head out, all the Black Eagle students had grown into capable fighters. Even Silvain showed some potential in horseback riding.

A day before Korrina headed out with the Black Eagles, she decided to check in with Jeralt. There was a lot that she wanted to talk to him about, and she figured it would be better to get it out of the way now so she wouldn't get distracted on the mission. Jeralt started out with the usual question of how Korrina was doing and if she was adjusting well to her new life/responsibilities. This put Korrina in a slightly good enough mood to forget about her beef with Jeralt for a time as she gushed about how amazing life at the monastery was. Korrina went on and on for at least 10 or so minutes about the Women's Association she made with Edelgard, the friendship she struck up with the gatekeeper, her improvements at teaching, the work she was doing with Hanneman and so much more. Once Jeralt was allowed to get a word in edgewise with his daughter, he gave the usual "don't get too attached to this place" spiel he's been doing since they got to Garreg Mach. "Why", Korrina asked with much frustration, "this is the best life we ever had." For a moment, Jeralt forgot his child had a brain and said, "Have you not been paying attention, Korrina? Rhea clearly wants something from you, and until I figure out what it is, I don't ever want you letting your guard down here. Not even once." This riled up Korrina enough to remember what she originally came to ask and said, "You never did trust anyone here, did you? And why did you leave the knighthood behind? Everyone here said you were the best of them all, so why did you throw that away to become a mercenary!?" Jeralt knew he would eventually be confronted with this question by his own flesh and blood, but he felt that telling everything that happened would just cause unnecessary complications, so he simply played the "to take care of you" card. Unfortunately for Jeralt, Korrina wasn't buying it. "Nonsense", Korrina said angrily, "Garreg Mach has been nothing but accommodating to our needs, we get three meals a day guaranteed, and we don't have to move every other day. Yes, Rhea may not be the most trustworthy, but following her command is a small price to pay for this life we have now. It's far better than being a mercenary." Jeralt couldn't believe what his daughter was saying and retorted, "Fine! If you love this place so much, you can STAY here! One day you'll understand what kind of person Rhea truly is!" Jeralt eventually realized that he might have been too harsh with his final words, but by the time that moment came, Korrina was already gone.

At the final briefing before moving out, Korrina was told that the bandits had been cornered in a place called "The Red Canyon". The name peaked Sothis's interest, but this was not the time or place for Korrina to entertain this voice. These bandits were also identified as the same pack that tried to attack Edelgard and the others that faithful night, so Korrina could at least feel comfortable knowing that she would be dealing with a familiar foe. Finally, it was confirmed to Korrina that the Knights of Seiros would be accompanying her class in case the situation got out of hand, so Korrina at least felt 10 or 20% better about putting her students in a potentially life or death situation. After some quick weapon purchases, the Black Eagles headed out for "the Red Canyon".

Although their leader was the same, it definitely appeared that the bandits Korrina was supposed to fight had ironically grown in numbers since their last encounter in Remire Village. Initially, Korrina tried to make a rectangular formation and take it slowly. Ferdinand, Caspar, Korrina and Edelgard would take the bandits head on while Dorothea and Bernadetta sniped anyone who survived the initial blow with magic or arrows. The strategy worked at first, but as the Black Eagles made it over the first bridge and the land started to widen, the bandits became able to attack the more vulnerable students from the sides and even blast them from a distance with their own arrows. Korrina had to make everyone pull back and rethink her strategy.

On the second try routing the bandits, Korrina decided to keep the formation for when they crossed the first bridge, then spread out and take each bandit one by one while the more fragile students like Linhardt and Dorothea were to stay behind and only engage enemies that couldn't counterattack and kill them. This strategy seemed to go much smoother, and before sundown, every bandit in "the Red Canyon" lie dead. Edelgard even made sure to bury her axe into the bandit leader after he already fainted just to make sure he stayed down this time.

With the dust settled, Korrina was finally able to have a somewhat normal conversation with Sothis. Although Korrina never went to "the Red Canyon" in any of her mercenary jobs, Sothis had quite a few memories and sensations attached to this place. This in turn made Korrina more interested in Sothis than before. If Sothis was really just a figment of Korrina's imagination, then there should be absolutely no way that Sothis would remember a place that Korrina doesn't let alone in that large an amount of detail. Before Korrina could truly pry Sothis for information, however, Edelgard caught the troubled professor talking to herself and took her back with the others. Thankfully, Edelgard did not pry too much into Korrina's "schizophrenia". Instead, she was more interested in talking about the various ruins within the "Red Canyon", each supposedly more interesting than the last. The fact that some of those ruins did not have any similarities with anything in the continent was what truly stood out to Edelgard, however. Korrina suggested that it might have been some precursor to the Adestrian Empire since time did not begin with Adestria's founding. Edelgard was disappointed in Korrina's "lack of creativity" but supposed that that may be the most likely explanation.

Back at Garreg Mach, Rhea seemed far more grateful for Korrina's assistance than usual. When asked about the unusual amount of gratitude, Rhea told Korrina about the canyon's historical significance. The Red Canyon's true name was Zanado, and it was the exact place where the goddess Sothis first descended and lived. Korrina was surprised to hear Sothis being referred to as a goddess, and Sothis even more so. Rhea asked if Korrina heard that name before in a less than innocuous way, and though Korrina tried to cover it up by saying she read the name in a book, Rhea saw right through Korrina's lie. Sothis was also freaking out over what this could mean, and Korrina was struggling to keep from responding to Sothis. Eventually Rhea metaphorically dropped the bomb and said "Stop trying to hide it, child. I know all about the 'voice in your head'." Korrina couldn't take it anymore and said "May I take my leave now? I need to calm down a bit." Thankfully, Rhea obliged and agreed to pick up this conversation another time. Korrina left Rhea's chambers that day with more questions than answers. "Do I really have a goddess inside my head? What am I? How does Rhea know about my secret?" The answers would continue to stay out of Korrina's reach for several months.


	4. Savior or Psychopath

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 4: Savior or Psychopath

For the last week or so of what we would call May, Korrina only left the monastery library to eat or teach. Ever since Korrina learned that the "voice in her head" may well be the goddess of her world, Korrina made it her mission to find out as much about the real Sothis as possible to see if the Sothis inside her head remembered any of the stuff these books were saying. The library of Garreg Mach was bigger than any library Korrina had ever visited, but the kindly old librarian Tomas could usually help Korrina find whatever she was looking for. However, Korrina never could shake the feeling that Tomas was watching her every minute she spent in the library. As for the actual books Korrina read, they contained many stories about the various miracles Sothis performed while she actually roamed the planet. The bias every book had towards Sothis was quite evident, but Korrina was able to tell fact from embellishment thanks to the goddess inside her head. For example, Sothis did walk on water and heal the sick effortlessly, but she didn't recall giving any of the commandments listed in the teachings (or really giving humanity any instruction at all besides "don't be stupid and throw your life away"). Sothis recalled being killed by an intimidating man with a sword that expanded and contracted like a whip, but she did not at all think that his name was "Nemesis". Once Korrina was tired of reading about Sothis, there was no longer any mistake: Sothis could very well have been THAT Sothis at one point in time. Korrina still had a bit of time left that day, so she began pouring over old records of the Church of Seiros and the Adestrian Empire to learn more about the types of people she worked for and would be working for. One thing that immediately caught Korrina's eye was the faculty records of Garreg Mach. Apparently, all the records of the Archbishop seemed to imply that Rhea was the only archbishop in the religion's history and occasionally changed names to avoid suspicion from younger generations. Seteth and Flayn also seemed to be potentially immortal beings that changed names every other generation. Korrina began to become suspicious of her current employers, but at the moment, she didn't think it was worth discussing with anyone. The Adestrian Empire seemed free of this immortal cronyism, but she would often see the name "Insurrection of the Seven" come up. This name referred to a recent coup committed by Ferdinand's father to strip Edelgard's father of his power. Although it was difficult to explain why at that moment, Korrina began to feel like Ferdinand's father and the other nobles behind the "Insurrection of the Seven" were power hungry traitors who wanted complete control of the Empire to themselves and began to pity Edelgard. One day, Seteth caught Korrina finishing up a book in the library and brought her to Archbishop Rhea.

When Korrina arrived at Rhea's chambers, the Archbishop was interested to see if Korrina was doing any better after what happened last time they spoke. "Much better. I've been trying to learn all about your goddess since that day." Rhea was mildly disappointed that Korrina didn't say "OUR goddess" and didn't give much of an apology for scaring Korrina like that, but she expressed confidence that one day the girl would fully embrace the teachings of Seiros. (It was obvious that Rhea wanted to say more, but she didn't feel that Korrina was ready to hear it yet). After this exchange, Rhea cut to the chase and explained the assignment for the Black Eagles this month. A minor noble from Faerghus answering to Lonato had declared war on the Church of Seiros, and the Black Eagles were to assist the Knights of Seiros in putting down this rebellion. Lonato had no allies that the Church of Seiros was aware of, so the mission was expected to be an easy one. Also, Rhea was sending her finest champion to lead the charge and even did the courtesy of introducing this mystery knight to Korrina. The mystery warrior leading the attack on Lonato was Catherine: a beautiful woman with slightly darker skin, messy blonde hair that she tied back at all times, and a surprisingly down to earth attitude. Catherine was everything Korrina wanted to be, and she was admittedly somewhat smitten. Unfortunately, this new emotion caused Korrina's heart to malfunction right in front of Catherine and the Archbishop. This caused Catherine to doubt if Korrina was up to the task, but Rhea vouched for Korrina and Catherine decided to trust her for now.

As Korrina left the library to resume her regular teacher activities, she noticed a lot of people talking about Lonato. Some (particularly Ferdinand) were quick to admonish Lonato's actions without even knowing why he was doing it. Others (such as Hubert and Claude) were curious as to how Lonato even expected to win this fight. However, the most interesting opinions came from the faculty and members of the Blue Lion house (most of them hail from Faerghus after all). A lot of these people knew Lonato as a kindhearted and pious man and wondered what happened to make him do such a thing. Then Korrina learned that Lonato had a son in the Blue Lions: a meek but pure boy with silver hair named Ashe. When Korrina arrived at the main chapel, she found Ashe in a catastrophic state. Ashe constantly alternated between praying, crying, and asking questions to no one. It was obvious that Ashe did not want to lose his father but knew it was the only way this could end. When Ashe ran out of energy, Korrina decided to chat with the boy. Ashe seemed to want to distance himself from Lonato but didn't even know what was on his father's mind, let alone what his intentions would be. Korrina didn't like seeing Ashe in such a state, but she also knew she couldn't just prevent Lonato from dying out there. After some extraordinarily deep thought, Korrina decided to hold out her hand and say "Come with us. I can't promise that your dad will be spared, but the least we can do is learn why he's doing this." Fortunately, this response seemed to finally stabilize Ashe for the time being. Also, all this talk of fathers was beginning to make Korrina think of her own father Jeralt. She began to wonder if it was wise to blow off his concerns about Rhea like that. Yes, life at Garreg Mach was paradise compared to the 21 years Korrina spent as a mercenary, but Rhea had also been acting quite creepy after Korrina's return from Zanado. Perhaps some of the girls in Korrina's sisterhood could give her some insight.

The Garreg Mach Women's Association had somewhat grown in size since it was established next month. Dorothea brought her friend Ingrid (a somewhat serious lady with long blonde hair) and Ingrid loved the meeting enough to tell her friends in the Blue Lions about it. Now a young beauty with carefully braided blonde hair and a personality pure as snow named Mercedes and a small but optimistic redhead named Annette were beginning to attend almost every meeting. The sisterhood was even able to start having Flayn under the condition that Seteth also attend the first few meetings to see what she was getting into. As Mercedes passed around her homemade sweets, Korrina began to discuss her problems with Jeralt hoping that some of the girls could give her some advice. Unfortunately, this talk of fathers seemed to scare away Bernadetta (a topic that Dorothea quickly said was a major no no when speaking to Bernadetta). Dorothea didn't have much experience with fathers but imagined that one probably would want the best for their child. Mercedes was not as sure, as her own adoptive father used her and her crest for leverage countless times. Ingrid seemed to understand where Mercedes was coming from since her own father had tried to marry her off ever since she turned 14 but did not agree that it came from selfishness. Petra and Annette didn't have much to add since the former lost her father in a war and the latter was still looking for her father at the time, but they wanted to believe that their fathers were good people. It seemed at the time that Edelgard was the only one with a 100% great relationship with her father, as she often spent her own opportunities to talk going on about how her father Ionius IX was there for her in the darkest of times. Hearing this made Korrina realize that maybe she had been a little hard on Jeralt since moving to Garreg Mach. Flayn suggested that Korrina apologize for the outburst and most of everyone (including Mercedes) agreed, though Petra was more for letting bygones be bygones and moving forward. This seemed to cheer up Korrina, and the sisterhood was dismissed for the week.

Later that week, Korrina went looking for Jeralt. When they finally crossed paths, it appeared that Jeralt too had been doing a bit of self-reflecting since their fight. Jeralt went first and said "I really put my foot in my mouth last time. I'm sorry kid. For a long time, I thought that becoming a mercenary was the right way to take care of you. I still don't trust Rhea, but hearing you talk yesterday made me feel like I probably chose the wrong path. If you think I ruined your life, I understand." "Not at all", Korrina replied. "You were the only good thing about being a mercenary. I couldn't have made it this far without you, and I'm sorry that I forgot that and pushed you away. Besides, Rhea's beginning to creep me out too." Jeralt cracked a warm smile at the realization that Rhea had failed to take his daughter away. Korrina was still going to stay at Garreg Mach since it was a good place for them right now, but Korrina at least promised her dad that she would not hesitate to get out if Rhea starts crossing lines again.

Now that the issue with Jeralt had been resolved, Korrina's thoughts again turned to Lonato. It was clear that Lonato didn't stand a chance, so what could he hope to gain from all this? Eventually Korrina concluded that perhaps Lonato means to lose on purpose. Maybe Lonato wants to make a martyr of himself and inspire more people to revolt against the Church of Seiros. Korrina then went to Rhea with these concerns thinking that this kind of hypothesis could be disastrous if proven correct. Unfortunately, Rhea was not interested in entertaining morally gray scenarios such as martyrdom. All Rhea saw was the Church of Seiros and anyone who defied it, and the latter she felt was deserving of death. In Rhea's own words, raising a sword against the church was akin to raising a sword at the goddess herself. At this point, Korrina realized that diplomacy would never be possible with Rhea at the helm and said "I didn't mean to question orders, Rhea. I just wanted to make you aware of this possibility" before leaving.

As Korrina prepared her students to move out, Catherine approached her. Catherine had figured out Korrina's feelings for her and wanted to make it clear that a romance was not in the cards right now. Besides, Catherine was about 10 years older than Korrina anyway. Korrina was disheartened by the response, but there was no time to mope. Lonato's forces needed to be dealt with. As they started to head toward Lonato's forces, Catherine entertained the Black Eagles with tales of her mighty weapon Thunderbrand (one of 10 weapons supposedly bestowed upon by the Goddess herself) and why Lonato rebelled. Apparently, one of Lonato's sons was accused of successfully conspiring to murder Dimitri's father and was executed by the Church of Seiros. Before Catherine could finish the story, however, a thick fog appeared out of nowhere and clouded the field of view. Catherine had fought enough times to know that one of Lonato's men had created it as cover for an ambush, and prepared for battle. The rest of the Black Eagles followed suit.

Everyone initially stood on guard, only moving slowly as they didn't know what was out there. Eventually, an armed militia began to slip through the fog and attack. Catherine gave these soldiers a messy end as Thunderbrand cleaved through their bodies while overstimulating them with thousands of volts worth of electricity. Because of this display of raw power, the Black Eagles started to stay within closer proximity to Catherine as nobody truly knew what was out there or even where Lonato was. Eventually, the Black Eagles found a suspicious dark mage hiding in the thicket, continuously casting some sort of spell. Korrina and Catherine began to suspect that this mage could be creating the fog, and ordered the mage taken out. Said dark mage proved surprisingly elusive due to the thicket he was hiding in, but Edelgard was able to lure the dark mage out into the open and burn him with fire magic. As the dark mage's life faded, the fog began to dissipate and the Black Eagles could finally get a clear view of the enemy. The bad news was that Lonato had managed to rally far more men than Korrina had anticipated for a minor noble.

Before long, the Black Eagles began to hear an old but powerful voice boom through the forest. Said voice clearly belonged to Lord Lonato. Lonato personally called out Catherine, accusing her of killing his son and challenging her to one final battle. Now that the martyr idea was out the window, Korrina, Edelgard, Ashe and the others made a beeline towards where Lonato's voice seemed to be coming from while Caspar and Petra kept the reinforcements from the north at bay and Catherine engaged the reinforcements from the west. None of Lonato's men had any real strength or powerful weapons, but their determination was beyond anything the Black Eagles or even Korrina had faced before. They all believed that Lonato was genuinely in the right, and their resolve seemed to shake the Black Eagles far more than their actual weapons. Nevertheless, Korrina, Ashe and the others continued to press forward. As they got closer to Lonato, he began to call Rhea a witch that had deceived them all. As far as Lonato was concerned, the goddess was on his side. Ashe tried to reason with Lonato, but he was too far gone. Lonato was going to fight to the death, and since Catherine was also busy mowing down reinforcements, Korrina had to accept the challenge on her behalf. Lonato's spear wasn't the strongest in the world, but he wielded it with an intensity comparable to Dimitri. Korrina had to start on the defensive, dodge the first barrage of stabs and wait for an opening. Once Lonato raised his spear for a decisive blow, Korrina used the second of opportunity to cut Lonato's horse. This act frightened the horse and temporarily caused Lonato to lose his balance. Korrina then lunged in and stabbed Lonato in the side, then as Lonato winced in pain, she went in for the killing blow and sliced him in the neck. "I'm sorry you never got that fight with Catherine", Korrina said as Lonato struggled then stopped breathing.

As the dust settled, all Ashe could do was kneel at his father's corpse and ask Lonato why he threw his life away like that despite already knowing the answer. Korrina knew there was nothing she could do to comfort the lad, so she waited for Ashe to get back up before proceeding. Because most of Lonato's men were just armed civilians, a lot of the Black Eagles were somewhat distraught by the end of it. Some like Caspar even questioned if there was a point to this conflict at all. Korrina knew that saying that this was the reality of war would not be a satisfactory answer, but she gave this opinion anyway because it would never do to have soldiers that hesitate to fight all the time. Ferdinand seemed to still view Lonato as a monster for bringing civilians into this despite now knowing his motivation. At the time, Korrina agreed. Lonato's cries of being blessed and Rhea being the heretic still ringed in Korrina's ears even if the mouth that said those things was now silenced. At the time, it seemed as though Lonato was nothing more than a delusional fanatic who somehow swayed a bunch of people to his "lost" cause. Edelgard was more split on the matter, but agreed with the notion that Lonato had to be taken out. Then Edelgard said something…peculiar. She said that one must never lose sight of their goal even if one's enemy is God itself. Korrina was taken a bit aback at this and wasn't sure if Edelgard was just making a point or suggesting a more successful version of Lonato's rebellion. It seemed like Edelgard was leaning more towards the latter, but before Korrina could press for more information, Catherine arrived with bad news. Ashe had found an anonymous letter on his father's corpse. In it, Lonato was given instructions to rebel against the church of Seiros. If it failed, the sender would assassinate Rhea at the Goddess's Rite of Rebirth. Although it didn't surprise Korrina that Lonato would be involved in something like this, she couldn't help but wonder how deep this conspiracy went. Catherine, meanwhile, was more concerned with getting this letter to Rhea at once.


	5. The Worst Grave Robbers

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 5: The Worst Grave Robbers

Back at Garreg Mach, Rhea was quick to praise Korrina for her skill displayed against Lonato. Although Korrina agreed that she worked hard to bring him down, she admitted that she probably wouldn't have even reached Lonato without Catherine and the Black Eagles backing her up. Unfortunately, Rhea was the type of person who interpreted hesitancy to fight armed civilians as a sign of weakness and repeated her jargon about how those who rebel against the church must pay the ultimate price. Korrina wasn't happy with this interpretation but was just happy to know that Lonato really wasn't trying to make a martyr of himself after all. (she even told Rhea as much) Seteth then interjected and directed everyone's attention back to the letter that was sent with Catherine's report. The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth was a month from then (their equivalent of July) and even though the Knights of Seiros were strong, there wouldn't be enough of them to adequately defend EVERY part of Garreg Mach. Korrina was originally surprised and disappointed to hear this as the Knights of Seiros were made out to be large in number and unstoppable in combat, but then she remembered how big Garreg Mach was and fell back in line. Korrina's mission for the next month: to help the knights in guarding Garreg Mach from their mysterious foe.

When Korrina relayed this information to the Black Eagles, not a ton of them really believed that Rhea was their mysterious enemy's "real target". Korrina initially did not believe them. First of all, nothing had come up that would suggest that their mysterious enemy would be after anything other than Rhea's life. Second, why go to all the trouble of staging this wild goose chase if the endgame was anything other than killing the archbishop and the Church of Seiros with her? In response to these "unexpected" doubts, Edelgard brought up how sloppily hidden that letter was. In her own words, it was almost as if their enemy deliberately wanted them to find it. Although Korrina still doubted that the enemy would be after something other than killing Rhea, the possibility of the initial threat being planted there as a red herring was rising too quickly to ignore. Thus, Korrina decided to humor her students and see if there was anything else that the enemy could be after. As the class for that day wrapped up, a relatively striking but stern woman with purple hair and eyes walked into a room with a dark-skinned boy named Cyril who everyone had seen around the monastery. The lady introduced herself as Shamir, an unparalleled sniper and mercenary hired to assist the Knights of Seiros in their time of need. Shamir anticipated that she would be working with each of the 3 houses at some point in time and felt the need to introduce herself to everyone so they aren't as surprised to see her. She was also teaching Cyril how to fight so he could fulfill his dream of protecting Rhea. As the two left, Silvain ran after them with the obvious goal of trying to get with Shamir. For his efforts, Silvain got an arrow to the chest and a full week in the infirmary.

The moment Korrina got some free time, she tracked down Seteth. When she found the man, he was coming back from a long shopping trip with Flayn. Korrina was immensely pleased to see Seteth being a good brother, but she immediately remembered what she came for and asked if she could talk with Seteth. Seteth wasn't focused on Korrina at the moment but told her that she can come to his office later. Thankfully, Seteth was able to keep his appointment with her, and Korrina laid out her concerns. "Many of my students believe that the threat on Rhea's life was a smokescreen and our enemy's real target is elsewhere in the monastery. I personally don't believe that anything here would be more valuable than Rhea's life, but if they are right and the enemy accomplishes their goal while we are all distracted, it would be my fault for ignoring the red flags. What to do, what to do…" Korrina explained. Seteth nodded in understanding and said, "I actually had considered that possibility myself. That letter in Catherine's report seemed too convenient to be true, and there are a lot of other valuables in this monastery." "Exactly", Korrina said, "If there's anyone here who knows about Garreg Mach, it's you. Is there anything here valuable enough to warrant such an elaborate scheme to acquire?" Seteth thought for a moment before giving his answer, carefully going through and ruling out any and all potential areas. Finally, Seteth answered "In the main chapel, there is a mausoleum where the bones of Seiros herself are buried. It is only open to the public during the Goddess's Rite of Rebirth, which also makes it the only day any would be thieves would be able to even try to steal them. If our enemy's target really is something other than the archbishop, it would likely be the inside of Seiros's coffin." "Thanks for the info", Korrina said as she headed out, "I had my doubts initially but now there is no mistaking our enemy's true objective." Seteth was grateful that he could be of help, but he was confused as to why Korrina went to him instead of the Archbishop. Apparently, it was because Korrina didn't want Rhea to let her guard down in this time of suspicion.

With such an important mission coming up, everyone's training began to double. As soon as Silvain got out of the infirmary, he was put right on the saddle and kept on there until he eventually mastered the art of riding a horse. With Petra's speed, she was taught how to pick locks and steal the enemy's weapon before they could even draw it. Thus, Petra became an officially registered thief before the end of the month. Caspar had slowly mastered the art of the axe and was now learning to fight with his bare hands too. Edelgard and Linhardt learned more about their respective fields of magic and became a mage and priest respectively. Dorothea, Ferdinand, and Bernadetta seemed to have a bit more trouble getting into their respective fields since there were specific weapon proficiencies that they were lacking at the moment. Korrina also spent more time conducting mock battles with the Knights of Seiros to toughen up the Black Eagles for threats worse than Lonato. Thankfully, Silvain got much better at taking hits since the Shamir incident and both Hubert and Dorothea found themselves able to cast more magic than before during their time in these mock battles. When this mysterious enemy came to the mausoleum, the Black Eagles would be waiting.

As the Goddess's Rite of Rebirth drew near, Korrina held one last strategy meeting with the other 3 houses and the Garreg Mach Women's Association. Although the enemy's target would be the mausoleum, there would still be a need for the other 2 houses to cover the remaining locations. Rhea and Seteth would specifically be confined to the Tower of the Goddess while this was all going on, so Ingrid would take a squadron of pegasi and cover the upper regions from snipers while the rest of the Blue Lions protected the base of the tower. The Golden Deer would cover the second floor in case there was anything special in the library or Hanneman's room that the enemy could also be after. Flayn was forced to stay with Seteth as the likely battle was far too dangerous for her to be anywhere other than by his side. With everyone's roles secure (and a few jokes made about the Black Eagles patrolling a mere coffin), Korrina moved out. As Korrina was preparing to go to the mausoleum, she saw a towering dark skin man looking somewhat depressed. Korrina recognized the man as Dedue, a bodyguard of Dimitri's. When she asked Dedue what was wrong, he explained how the knights wouldn't let him participate because "his kind" couldn't be trusted. Although Dedue seemed to understand, Korrina did not appreciate or tolerate this treatment of another student. Although it was too late to fight for him this month, Korrina still decided to hug the big man and say, "I would trust you." Korrina also wanted to check in on Ashe since his station was right on the way to the mausoleum. Ashe was found praying that his father Lonato's soul could finally know peace. Korrina felt a small sense of guilt and told the boy, "Nothing can change the fact that I took your dad from you. I won't waste your time asking for forgiveness, but I do hope you'll eventually understand why I did it." Ashe tried to deny it and say that he was actually grateful that Korrina was able to stop Lonato, but Korrina knew that Ashe wasn't that simple. Before their conversation could continue, Hubert warped to their location and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt this touching conversation, but the enemy has already gotten inside the mausoleum." "How is that possible!?", Korrina shouted, "We were guarding the only entrance to that place!" Hubert then took Korrina and warped back inside the mausoleum.

Sure enough, the enemy had teleported their way inside the mausoleum. Silvain had recognized the enemy's clothing as belonging to the Western Church, but that wasn't important to Korrina. What was important to Korrina was the enemy commander. The name and gender of the leader was unknown, but it dressed like the Grim Reaper and was far more powerful than anything Korrina had faced in her life. One of the dark mages in the back identified the commander as The Death Knight and tried to goad him into attacking the Black Eagles, but The Death Knight neither wanted to fight nor take orders from weaklings. Korrina earnestly began to laugh at this display of unorganized incompetence, unable to believe that anyone could take these jokers seriously. This gesture enraged the dark mage in the back, who then ordered his Western Church friends to kill the Black Eagles while he broke the seal on Seiros's coffin. Korrina then said "If the Death Knight won't engage us, we won't engage it. Go around it and make your way to the coffin in the back before that thief can break the seal." The shape of the mausoleum made this battle a tricky one, as the Western Church was able to use the narrow corridors to establish chokepoints and bottleneck the Black Eagles. Fortunately, the Western Church was just as bad at fighting as they were at planning a robbery, and the Black Eagles were able to press onward to the coffin.

Unfortunately, Korrina arrived a tad late as the dark mage had already picked the lock on Seiros's coffin and was browsing the insides. However, the only thing inside that coffin was an abnormally shaped sword. The mage tried to wield this sword against Korrina, but it soon became apparent that this mage never picked up a sword in his life. Korrina easily slipped through the mage's defenses, knocking the sword (and quite a bit of blood) from his hand. Korrina then picked up the sword and felt a strange power beginning to surge. This weapon glowed much like Catherine's Thunderbrand did when she grasped it, and it only took a second for Korrina to recognize this and start using this strange new power. As Korrina swung her new sword, it stretched out like a whip and cut the mage diagonally, slicing the mage in half in the process. The Death Knight took notice of this and teleported away, intrigued by the turn of events.

As the sword returned to its original shape and the Black Eagles stood by in awe of Korrina's new power, Ashe, Catherine and a ton of reinforcements arrived. Apparently, Ashe left his post to tell Catherine where the enemy was located, and she converged most of their resources into this location. The reinforcements easily apprehended the remaining enemies while Korrina gave her report directly. She said "The enemy had somehow teleported inside and broke the seal on Seiros's coffin. Fortunately, the Black Eagles and I were able to defeat them easily. When the sword they were trying to steal fell into my hands, though…" Korrina then clutched the sword once more to show Catherine that it responds to her. Catherine was both shocked and amazed at what had just happened as she started to realize what Korrina truly was. Korrina then told Catherine, "Tell Rhea. Tell Seteth. Tell Hanneman. If they don't believe you, bring them to me so they can see it too. I don't yet know what this means but I know this is way too significant to be ignored." As Catherine left to tell everyone, Korrina held the Sword of the Creator and waited to see what fate had in store for her next.


	6. The True Nature of Crests

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 6: The True Nature of Crests

When the surviving members of the Western Church were brought before Archbishop Rhea, it was made clear that they wouldn't be getting any mercy from her either. The men spoke as if someone else had put them up to it, but Rhea didn't seem to care. All that mattered to her was that the men standing before her were criminals deserving of death. Korrina was a little surprised that Rhea didn't even want to hear who put them up to it, but considering the severity of their crimes, it sort of made sense that no one would take their side. During the execution, many of the Black Eagles began to fear Rhea (Bernadetta especially). Caspar even said that Rhea had went too far in executing them that easily. However, Korrina somewhat agreed with Rhea's decision to execute the Western Church members. Caspar and Dorothea were a little shocked by this turn of events, so Korrina decided to explain. She said "Think about it. If someone prompted another noble to lead a bunch of civilians to their death just to deliver a threat to your life, broke into your castle on a holiday while said threat to your life was still being taken seriously, then attempted to rob your ancestor's grave, would you be so willing to grant said person an inch of mercy?" The logic made sense to Hubert (even if he felt the need to mock Korrina's lack of knowledge about the church) and a few others, but Dorothea and Bernadetta were still unsure if this was truly the right way to deal with severe criminals. Before Korrina could elaborate further, however, Seteth arrived to bring Korrina to Rhea.

Korrina was half expecting to be punished or at least admonished for using the church's most valuable weapon in combat without permission, but instead, Rhea thanked Korrina for protecting the mausoleum and the "Sword of the Creator". "Sword of the Creator?", Korrina asked, "Do you mean this odd sword right here?" Korrina then pulled out the sword in front of Rhea and Seteth, the glow still as bright as it was the other day. Seteth was still adjusting to the fact that someone was actually capable of wielding it, while Rhea was a little too affirmative for either of their liking. "The same.", Rhea replied. She then went on to explain how the Sword of the Creator was apparently the first and most powerful of the 10 relics. Korrina was admittedly a bit happy to learn that she was now at least somewhat equal to Catherine, a mindset that caused Seteth to doubt if Korrina was truly ready to wield the Sword of the Creator. Seteth then explained to Korrina in a voice equal parts annoyed and terrified about how Nemesis himself wielded the Sword of the Creator. Korrina recognized what Seteth was trying to tell her as she had already read up on Nemesis during her time at the library. However, Seteth admitted there was more to the story. Apparantly, Nemesis was personally given that sword by Sothis to drive back "evil gods" but then went mad with power and had to be put down by the first archbishop. Korrina acknowledged what Seteth was trying to warn Rhea about and suddenly began to wonder if she would end up like him. Unfortunately, Rhea had already made up her mind about Korrina using the Sword of the Creator. Thankfully, there was a reason for this. Back in the Kingdom of Faerghus, some thieves had stolen another relic, the Lance of Ruin. Their leader was a disowned son of House Gautier, and the motive was clearly vengeance. Korrina recognized the name as the house Silvain was from, but also found herself wondering why this man was disinherited. Seteth's answer was that the man lacked a crest, which seemed quite ludicrous to Korrina. In Korrina's mind, someone should be disinherited due to poor conduct, not because of something beyond their control. Even with Rhea's further explanation of how those without a crest cannot use the full power of its corresponding relic, Korrina's point still stood. A ruler is different from a fighter, after all. Despite all this, Korrina still understood the severity of the situation and accepted the mission laid out for her.

The next chance Korrina got, she visited Hanneman's office. Ever since the Sword of the Creator awakened for her the way Thunderbrand awakens for Catherine, she had been more curious than ever to understand the true nature of her origins. Hanneman had already solved the mystery before Korrina had even arrived, both to her gratitude and to her disappointment. "I know how you feel", Hanneman said in a more comforting tone, "being beaten to the punch is always a frustrating feeling, even if that person is your colleague. Nevertheless, please listen to my findings for a moment." Korrina quickly overcame her disappointment at not being able to discover it with him and listened intently. After a few minutes of rambling about the shape of Korrina's crest and the detailed meaning behind every single meaning of every single line, shape and abrasion, Hanneman finally introduced Korrina's full crest: The Crest of Flames. The Crest of Flames is the direct bloodline of Nemesis, one thought to have gone extinct after his death on the battlefield. However, Korrina was living proof that that theory was completely false. Korrina's first response was, "Did Jeralt know about any of this?" Hanneman responded by saying, "Most unlikely. Jeralt's crest was the Crest of Seiros, and he told me that the Crest of Seiros was the only one passed down from his ancestors. If anything, The Crest of Flames comes from your mother's side of the family. Who your mother was, however, I cannot say. Jeralt never even gave the poor woman's name when he spoke of her." With this in mind, Korrina went to find Jeralt as Hanneman looked to the skies and started daydreaming aloud of all the fame he'd get from this historical discovery.

Korrina searched all over the monastery for Jeralt, talking to numerous people as to his potential whereabouts. Eventually, Korrina found Jeralt putting flowers before a grave. Korrina immediately took this to be her mother's grave and asked Jeralt as such. The approach caught Jeralt off guard, but he confirmed it: this was indeed his wife's grave. Jeralt then discussed longingly his wife's multiple virtues and how pretty she looked when she smiled. This in turn caused Korrina to smile and cuddle up to Jeralt for the first time since coming to Garreg Mach. Jeralt chuckled and said, "Yep. You definitely got that from your mom. I never thought of it before, but this position as teacher might have been something your mother would have wanted if she were still alive. I've no doubt she would be proud of you if she were still here." Korrina then said, "By the way, did my mother share my crest or know anything about being descended from Nemesis?" Jeralt responded by saying, "That's much more difficult to figure out. Neither me nor your mother really talked about crests that often. To be honest, neither of us really cared. We were both more than our crests, and I hope that you'll keep that in mind too. I know it's hard what with all that's happened, but if you let that power go to your head, I fear what would happen to this world." Korrina took that warning to heart and agreed, much to Jeralt's happiness. Before leaving, Jeralt promised to one day give Korrina his wedding ring in hopes that she would find someone who brought her as much happiness as her mother brought Jeralt.

Because this new mission sounded more dangerous than any of the previous ones, Korrina thought this as good a time as ever to "go" to Sothis about learning that time controlling technique that Sothis used that one time. Thankfully, this part did not require much convincing. Because Sothis would also die if Korrina died, there was absolutely no reason for her to not teach Korrina this power. The name of the technique was Divine Pulse, and it allowed Korrina to turn back time a certain amount as well as decide who would remember everything that happened leading up to the last usage of Divine Pulse (kinda like seeing a glimpse of the future). Although Sothis generally preferred to use Divine Pulse in life or death situations, Korrina thought it a better idea to test this power in a more casual setting. Ferdinand was fixing to apologize to Bernadetta for being so pushy with her the other day, and such a metaphorical minefield was perfect testing grounds for a time controlling power like Divine Pulse. Whenever Ferdinand bungled the apology or said too much, Korrina would reverse time and keep Ferdinand's memory of the goof intact. It took a few tries (especially since Ferdinand wasted one of the uses on marveling at what had just happened) but eventually, Korrina mastered the Divine Pulse and Ferdinand started to develop a close friendship with Bernadetta.

As mission preparations went fully underway, Korrina began to notice a few changes within her fellow students. Petra had begun to become enamored with pegasi after learning about their existence during the Goddess's Rite of Rebirth and asked Ingrid to teach her how to fly one during the next sisterhood meeting. Bernadetta had started actually trying to come out of her room and interact with people. Bernadetta often failed at this due to her social anxiety, but Korrina did once catch her successfully giving someone a tour around the monastery without incident. Silvain had learned to somewhat back off after the Shamir incident, but the bad news was that now Silvain was starting to pass through multiple women a week. When Korrina confronted him about this, the young noble explained that he was merely looking for a woman that valued him for more than just his crest and nobility. Ferdinand was finally able to wear heavy armor without any trouble and thus was able to become a true knight. Dorothea had finally put her bias against religion aside to learn faith and healing. The rest mostly stuck to what they were good at, but nevertheless showed great signs of improvement.

The day before the mission, the Black Eagles were introduced to an old but muscular man named Gilbert. Since Gilbert hailed from Faerghus, Rhea thought it a good idea to let him guide the Black Eagles to their destination and even help them fight. Once the pleasantries and formalities were over with, Korrina told Gilbert that one of her friends was looking for a man that matched Gilbert's description. This piqued Gilbert's interest as he said, "Interesting. Who might this young lady be then?" Korrina responded by saying, "Her name is Annette. She hails from the Blue Lion house and shares your hair and eye color." Gilbert had a very…interesting response to this answer. He seemed to forget the Black Eagles were even there and said to no one, "I'm sorry. I'm sure you must be worried sick about me." Korrina then alerted Gilbert to the fact that her and the Black Eagles were still there and said, "You can tell her that in person when we come back." This in term seemed to give Gilbert a small sense of determination as he addressed the Black Eagles and said, "Students. Our target this month is Miklan, a disowned son of House Gautier. He has overtaken a stronghold named Conand Tower in the northernmost reaches of Faerghus. It is my duty to ensure that each of you reaches that tower and comes back safely. As for the rest, I'm confident that you'll be able to handle it. Get plenty of sleep and dress warmly. I'll be waiting for you at the Knight's Hall tomorrow."

Later that day, Korrina went to check up on her old friend, the gatekeeper. The man took his job seriously and was quite disheartened to hear that so many had snuck past him on the Goddess's Rite of Rebirth. Korrina finally had enough time to tell him, "The Western Church used warp magic to teleport their way into the mausoleum. Noone saw it coming, not even me. This isn't a failure on your part. Just a miscalculation on mine. You're still a great guard." This seemed to lift the gatekeeper's spirits, and come the next day, he was back to his usual cheery self. "Come back safe, everyone!", the gatekeeper shouted with a smile as Korrina and the Black Eagles headed out for Conand Tower.

A massive storm began to pick up as the Black Eagles began to approach Conand Tower. Such weather made the first sight of Conand Tower all the more intimidating. Nevertheless, everyone was somewhat quick to plow through the front guard and enter the tower before their armor could get any wetter. Due to the spiral shape of the tower, there wasn't much room for complex strategy. All the Black Eagles had to do was keep going straight to the top and kill anyone who got in their way. As the Black Eagles eventually reached a break in fighting, they started to talk with Gilbert about the target and the historical significance of Conand Tower. Apparently, this tower was made to defend against invasions from the north. Edelgard was really impressed that Miklan was able to survive the arduous climb and take the tower for himself. Silvain was shockingly quick to respond with, "My brother is not impressive. He's just another thief with a poor attitude." Some of the others were a bit taken aback by how dismissive Silvain was of his own brother, but they felt he had his reasons. Korrina, on the other hand, was a bit more interested in the family dynamic of House Gautier. Gilbert went on to explain how House Gautier values their crest above all else when it comes to inheritance. The crest manifested for Silvain, but not for Miklan. Edelgard thought the whole thing was farcical, and Korrina agreed. Neither of them believed that someone should be ostracized and cast out for not having a crest. Silvain then butted back in and said "If you're still talking about my brother, save it. Miklan was always a piece of trash, hating me for my crest and demanding the inheritance 'back' without doing anything to deserve it. I just didn't think he'd go so far as to steal our relic." Before the conversation could continue, more thieves came charging down and the fighting resumed.

As the Black Eagles neared the top of Conand Tower, their enemies started to get more devious. The mages within this false army started to rain down thunder from the uppermost floor while the archers let down arrow rain. If Dorothea hadn't learned to cast thunder magic of her own, the Black Eagles would have been cooked. Ferdinand used his armor to tank the arrows while Bernadetta made curved shots of her own to pick off the archers and mages one by one. As always, Linhardt was there to provide the necessary healing (even if all the climbing had left him more exhausted than usual). The thieves also found little compartments to ambush the Black Eagles from different directions, eventually sandwiching them. Gilbert, Petra, Hubert, and Ferdinand agreed to hold off the surprise reinforcements while the rest made it to the top.

Naturally, Miklan was waiting for the Black Eagles at the top with the Lance of Ruin in hand. Due to the supposed power of the relic Miklan held, Korrina wanted to initially play it safe and hit him safely from a distance. To that end, Edelgard and Dorothea made use of their remaining magic uses while everyone else finished fighting the small fry and started to catch up at the top. Unfortunately, Edelgard and Dorothea eventually ran out of magic for the day and Miklan went on the offensive. Silvain rushed in to save the 2 mages, even though he himself didn't stand much of a chance defending against the Lance of Ruin. As Silvain fell off his horse, Miklan laughed at his younger brother's weakness. Despite his injuries, Silvain responded with "I'm supposed to be the weakling? I don't think so. At least I wouldn't steal what's rightfully yours." Miklan said "You already have" before raising the Lance of Ruin to finish Silvain. Before he could, though, Korrina wrapped the Sword of the Creator around Miklan's arm and made him drop the Lance of Ruin for a moment. In just a moment, however, Miklan picked the relic back up and engaged Korrina personally. Now that Korrina no longer had the element of surprise, Miklan was now able to effectively parry the Sword of the Creator with his longer reach and force Korrina on the defensive. Thankfully, most of the Black Eagles had finally reached the fight and charged Miklan all at once. Even the Lance of Ruin couldn't defend Miklan from an onslaught from all directions.

Miklan survived the onslaught, but just barely. He was determined to keep fighting to the bitter end, but before he could make his next move, a strange tentacle like goo emerged from the Lance of Ruin and covered his entire body. It happened so fast that Miklan didn't even realize what was happening until his arm was seized by the goo, and by then, it was already too late to drop the Lance of Ruin and run for it. All Miklan could do was cry to his former adversaries for help as the goo spread to his face and entered his eyes, nose and mouth. Once the goo fully enveloped Miklan, it began to transform his body. The goo now hardened into scales as the being that once was Miklan doubled in size and grew a tail, spines, and an elongated head. Miklan and the Lance of Ruin were both gone, and in their place was a feral beast resembling a bipedal chameleon more than any type of human.

Needless to say, this horrifying scene changed the situation completely. Bernadetta immediately went into shock from the terror of it all, and the monster decided to make her its first target. Without thinking, Ferdinand grabbed Bernadetta and turned around to shield them both from the oncoming attack. Gilbert then hacked at the monster's arm to grab its attention long enough to let Ferdinand take Bernadetta and escape. Unfortunately, Gilbert couldn't hold the monster for long as it quickly threw him against the wall, picked up a piece of another wall, and threw it at him. Gilbert was out in an instant. Korrina then picked up Gilbert's body, placed it on Silvain's horse, and prompted it to get out of there as well. Noticing that it had the upper hand now, the monster began to charge up some energy. Korrina then had everyone get away as the monster released a spray of highly damaging thorns. As Linhardt started healing everyone, Sothis then got an idea of how to defeat the monster and explained to Korrina that there could be a barrier surrounding it that could only be broken with high levels of strength. This looked like a job for Caspar. Caspar charged in, striking away at this hypothetical barrier with all his might while Edelgard assisted with an axe of her own. Petra was also of some use, as her quick speed allowed her to slip by most of the monster's attacks. Sothis's hypothesis proved correct, as the Black Eagles were eventually able to stagger the monster and turn the tide. The Black Eagles then used this chance to lay into the monster with everything they had left before the monster could regain its senses. With one last strangling from the Sword of the Creator and yet another decisive blow from Caspar, the monster finally passed away.

As the monster's life faded, its form dissolved to reveal Miklan and the Lance of Ruin. Miklan was also dead, and the Lance of Ruin no longer had that same terrifying power it had before. On a whim, Korrina shouted "Well, what are you waiting for? Destroy the Lance of Ruin before it has a chance to corrupt someone else!" Gilbert swiftly responded with "No! I forbid it! No matter what we just saw, the Lance of Ruin is still a vital asset to the kingdom's defenses as well as the pride of House Gautier!" Korrina disagreed, but Silvain took Gilbert's side. Recognizing that she had probably overstepped her boundaries, Korrina relented and let Silvain have the Lance of Ruin. On the way down, Korrina encountered Ferdinand nursing Bernadetta back to health. "She'll live, but it'll take a few days for her to mentally recover. I apologize deeply for my own display of cowardice in running from the fight, though. I have no excuse and happily accept any punishment." Korrina didn't like the way Ferdinand perceived his actions and responded with a story. "On my first mission as a mercenary, I went far beyond what my heart could handle and passed out on the battlefield. Rather than press on, my father aborted the mission just to get me to safety. Several of his men thought him a coward and left the company over this, but if he hadn't ran that day, I wouldn't be here leading you. You did a very noble thing back there Ferdinand, and if my father were here too, he'd say the same thing." This definitely helped to get Ferdinand's self confidence back on track, and they all started on the road back to Garreg Mach.

Back at the monastery, Rhea was insistent on keeping what transpired at Conand Tower a secret. Although Korrina thought that the people deserved to know the true nature of the relics, she did not feel like anyone would believe her story about someone transforming into a monster, so she halfheartedly agreed. As for the Lance of Ruin, Korrina said "If I still had it, I would return it to you." Rhea changed tone and accused Korrina of losing the Lance of Ruin, but Korrina finished talking and said "I gave it to Silvain. If you want the lance, you're gonna have to talk to him about it." Rhea then calmed down and said "Very well. I'll meet with Silvain later about this topic, but I must advise against making such decisions in the future without consulting me first." With that ominous note, the meeting was adjourned.

That night, Korrina heard a maddening cry for help from Edelgard's room. Immediately, Korrina leapt into action and smashed through the door to her room. Edelgard was both annoyed and embarrassed that she had actually attracted attention. It didn't take long for Korrina to realize that Edelgard was simply having a nightmare, However, Edelgard decided she could trust Korrina and said the nightmare was about her past, specifically the slow deaths of every one of her ten siblings. According to Edelgard, it was disease that killed them all. However, the way she said that she wouldn't let it happen again suggested that there was more to it than just disease. When Korrina asked what Edelgard wanted to do as Empress, she went back to the subject of Miklan. She was still furious that such uncontrollable things as crests could determine who does and doesn't hold power. Korrina dissented and hypothesized that the system was put in place to prevent the relics from corrupting people and turning them into monsters. However, Korrina also believed that the relics were parasitic entities that could only be staved off by the power of a crest. "Such demonic powers should not be counted on to protect people, let alone create an entire system around." Korrina said with more purpose than usual. Edelgard took it a step further and said that the only way was to destroy the goddess and the crests. This shocked Korrina quite a bit as she never thought of the goddess as a malevolent entity, but Edelgard quickly caught herself and chalked it up to lack of sleep. This put Korrina's mind at ease as she left back for her own room. Little did she know that Edelgard was 100% serious.


	7. Traffickers in Garreg Mach

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 7: Traffickers in Garreg Mach

Normally, each month would begin with Rhea assigning Korrina with some sort of mission for the Black Eagles to carry out. The month we call September appeared to be no different at first. However, before Rhea could even give Korrina a word about her new mission, Seteth came barging in the room in a state of panic. Apparently, Flayn had disappeared without a trace and Seteth could not find her anywhere in the monastery. Seteth was in hysterics, and Rhea didn't know how to properly consolidate him. Korrina began to think of what Jeralt would do and approached Seteth. Korrina then held the man and said "We'll find her. I promise. We'll all help you find your sister." This act seemed to calm down Seteth a little bit, but he was still beside himself with worry. Korrina then turned to Rhea and said, "I'm sorry, archbishop, but I'm gonna have to hold off on that mission until we can find Flayn." Usually, such defiance would greatly displease Rhea, but this time, she seemed to understand. Rhea smiled and said, "Never fear. Flayn and Seteth are both like family to me. I, too, will devote everything I have to recovering her. As for now, you are dismissed until Seteth reaches a clearer state of mind."

The next day, Korrina returned to Rhea's chamber to apologize for her behavior the past few days. She said, "I'm sorry if I've been rude to you these past few days. Between the incident at Conand Tower and Flayn's disappearance, I haven't had any time to really calm back down." Rhea comprehended this idea and said, "Stop fretting, child. Given the circumstances, I have already cancelled all my mission plans for the month. Although I expect your best, I do recognize that these times have become taxing on the soul. However, even in these trying times, you must not let your heart waver. No good decision has ever been made under impatience or stress, after all." After these words of wisdom, Seteth appeared in a slightly more presentable fashion than he was in yesterday. Though Seteth would never truly recover until he was reunited with his sister, he was at least ready to talk about it. The idea of just running away was immediately ruled out as Seteth mentioned that Flayn always told him where she was going. There was also a bit of conflicting information as Rhea said that Flayn hasn't left the monastery while Seteth said that no one found her in their most recent sweep of Garreg Mach. Given the information at hand, Korrina then began to feel like continuing to search Garreg Mach could only be a waste of time. Seteth then brought up a terrible rumor that which had been circulating Garreg Mach the past few weeks. Apparently, someone called the Death Knight patrols the local town every night this time of year. Whenever this happens, a little girl will often disappear, never to be seen again. Korrina was quick to connect the dots between this Death Knight and the man she encountered at the mausoleum a few months ago. Korrina did not have much doubt anymore: the Death Knight kidnapped Flayn, and the only way to get her back was to find him.

When class began the next day, Korrina gave it straight: "Flayn has gone missing, and I have personally volunteered to help the search party. Thus, all future classes are cancelled until Flayn is properly located and reunited with Seteth. I won't require you to help me but think about it. What would you do if you had a sister of your own and she went missing? Personally, I wouldn't eat or sleep until she was confirmed to be alive and safe. I'll leave you to think about that. Class dismissed." Because they had gotten to know Flayn through the sisterhood, Edelgard, Dorothea, Petra, and Bernadetta all left with Korrina to help with the search effort. Ferdinand and Silvain followed suit, as they both thought it was the right thing to do. Caspar joined out of sincere concern for Flayn's health, and even though Linhardt was mildly excited that he wouldn't have to attend any more lectures for the foreseeable future, he shared Caspar's sentiment and decided to pitch in too. All that remained was Hubert, but just because he was passive aggressive to the point where every sentence could be interpreted as a threat didn't mean he was some heartless monster. Hubert decided to help the search party as well, cementing the Black Eagles' "mission" for the month.

Korrina's first thought was to turn to her friends at the Garreg Mach Women's Association to see if they noticed anything suspicious. Thankfully, said sisterhood had just received some new arrivals from the Golden Deer that were willing to lend a hand: a somewhat lazy woman with pink pigtails named Hilda, a white haired, purple eyed child prodigy named Lysithea, and a tomboy with orange hair that worked with Jeralt named Leonie. Hilda believed that Flayn simply couldn't take being around Seteth anymore and simply ran away, but the Blue Lion girls were quick to shut down that theory. Flayn seemed to enjoy her brother's company too much to simply run away, and if she did, Seteth would have caught her in an instant. Lysithea then chimed in and admitted that Flayn always seemed older than her appearance suggested, causing many of the "sisters" to wonder if this was simple maturity like Lysithea or something more magical that would make her a primary target for kidnapping. This idea made Edelgard recoil as if remembering a traumatic event, and she suddenly became more pushy about finding out who took Flayn and where they might be. Annette believed it was the Death Knight based on the rumors circling around, but the rest were more interested in pointing fingers wherever they could. Korrina tried to convince the others that it was indeed the Death Knight, but even though they agreed, they still felt like the Death Knight's true identity could be one of the staff members here at Garreg Mach. Not only would it explain how the Death Knight was able to get so close to Flayn, but it was also extremely likely considering that the Death Knight's main site of operations was the town just outside of Garreg Mach. Leonie suspected Tomas as he had always been trying to figure out as much as he could about Flayn. Korrina was initially dismissive of this theory as Tomas was too old and frail to be the Death Knight, but he was suspicious enough for Korrina to wonder if there was a connection. A more plausible assumption was Ingrid's idea of the Death Knight being Gilbert. Her logic of Gilbert being the one was most shaky as it was nothing more than a hunch, but he was at least physically able enough to be someone like the Death Knight. Petra's accusation was the most absurd, as she accused Shamir simply because she was also foreign. This seemed to greatly upset Korrina, as she would later take Petra to apologize to Shamir. After the round of accusations were finished, Korrina then drew up a game plan for each of the "sisters" to spread out to a different corner of the surrounding area and see if they can even find a trace of Flayn and/or the Death Knight. Before the sisterhood was dismissed, Dorothea shared an interesting piece of info with Korrina. Manuela had been running all over the monastery as if looking for something or someone. Maybe Manuela was searching for Flayn in her own way or maybe it was something else. Either way, Dorothea was mildly concerned and wanted Korrina to check it out sometime.

The first thing Korrina did was take Petra to apologize to Shamir for the latter's baseless accusations. Although Petra understood that she was wrong to make connections where there wasn't any, she was still interested in the type of person Shamir was before coming to the monastery. Shamir wasn't much for words, but she was open to talking with Petra during a less busy time. While this was happening, Korrina got an idea. She said, "We could use some help looking for Flayn. Would you like to join us for a while?" Shamir accepted, though fighting was more her specialty. Korrina then went to investigate Tomas, as she always did suspect him. However, Tomas insisted that he was merely curious about Flayn's origins. After all, he had known Seteth for most of his 40-year career but didn't know he had a sister until this year. Because Korrina had no proof connecting Tomas to the Death Knight, she had no choice for now but to take him at his word and move on. Her conversation with Gilbert left similar results, as he expertly debunked Ingrid's suspicions and reasoning. With most of her leads used up, Korrina began desperately asking passerby for any useful tips. Linhardt suggested that Hanneman was greatly interested in Flayn's crest, but Hanneman was too straightforward and honest about his methods to arrange a kidnapping. Some of the staff accused Dedue in dehumanizing terms, which only worsened Korrina's mood. Jeralt mentioned that Manuela was running around with a mask, but closer inspection revealed that she was merely trying to find the mask's original owner. Korrina was despondent for an hour, but then her old friend the gatekeeper gave some crucial information. Apparently, Jeritza often leaves the monastery at night sporting ominous black and gray armor that matched the Death Knight's description. Because Jeritza had been suspiciously absent this whole time, he now became the primary suspect in this case. Korrina notified Catherine about her suspicions then got the Black Eagles back together for a stakeout of Jeritza's personal quarters.

After the Black Eagles and Shamir met up, the guards led them to Jeritza's personal quarters. Inside was a shocking scene that no one was expecting. Manuela was sprawled out unconscious on the floor, and there was a gaping bloody gash running across her back. Thankfully, the wound was still fresh and closer inspection revealed that Manuela was still breathing. Thus, Edelgard and the local guards helped get Manuela to the infirmary while the rest stayed behind to further investigate. Hubert noted that Manuela seemed to be pointing at something while she was laying down. Following the general direction revealed a secret passage behind a bookshelf that Manuela had clearly moved before she was ambushed and floored with a single hit. Believing that this secret passageway would take them right to wherever Flayn was being held, Korrina, Shamir and the Black Eagles rushed in there without a second thought.

The passageway ran deep underground. Everyone was shocked that such an expansive corridor existed within Garreg Mach, and both Korrina and Hubert wondered how Rhea failed to give such an obvious hiding place any sort of security or suspicion. Eventually, the path split into two. Korrina, Hubert, Caspar, Dorothea and Bernadetta would take the path to the left. Silvain, Ferdinand, Petra, Linhardt and Shamir would take the path to the right. Each team would leave some sort of trail so they wouldn't get lost. Neither team really knew what awaited them or if the Death Knight was alone, so they all prepared for the worst. The left path lead to a wide-open room filled with clearly hostile people sporting uniforms not seen anywhere else. They attacked on sight, and Korrina responded in kind. Although their enemy had moderately strong weapons, Caspar was able to clean up shop with them while Dorothea and Bernadetta picked off any survivors or enemies in Caspar's blind spots. The right path, meanwhile, lead to a narrow maze where the Black Eagles and Shamir were attacked through the slits by enemies they couldn't see. Thankfully, Silvain and Ferdinand were able to shrug off the arrows while Petra made a beeline for the nearest door. Once the lock was picked on said door, the archers were exposed and disposed of with relative ease. Soon afterwards, the team on the right came to a spacious room filled with doors and a switch. There was also an ambush, but Silvain and Petra took care of that problem. Once the switch was flipped, the doors all opened up to various cells. On the right end, Korrina and her team arrived at some sort of prison. Multiple children were held inside, but Flayn was nowhere to be seen. After Bernadetta disposed of the guards, the cells were all burst open by Caspar and he and Bernadetta lead the children inside to safety.

Both teams eventually met back up again at a point where the paths seemed to converge. Silvain and Petra were helping the children on the right side escape, so it was now just Korrina, Hubert, Linhardt, Dorothea, Ferdinand and Shamir. Pressing onward, they found a large and ominous door, and behind it was an unconscious Flayn alongside another girl sporting a student uniform. Before anyone could do anything with the 2, the Death Knight came back to see what the commotion was. The Death Knight recognized Korrina from the failed attempt to raid the mausoleum. Korrina, however, was far more invested in the children being held captive outside this room. Knowing that lying would be pointless in this scenario, the Death Knight explained everything. He said, "Those children are my livelihood. Each night, I patrol the streets and take anyone unlikely to fight back. My captives are then taken here, where my men groom and feed them in preparation for the big day." Korrina asked what this big day was, to which the Death Knight responded, "We take the children and sell them to the highest bidder. We often make it a policy to only deal with people from other continents so the purchases can't be traced. What these people do with the children is none of my concern. All that matters is the payment I receive for each child." Korrina called the Death Knight a monster, but the Death Knight ironically encouraged Korrina to hate him. He said, "Lucrative as this operation is, fighting has always been my real passion. Come. Let your hatred of me grow. It's been an eternity since I last crossed blades with a worthy enemy." With this, the Death Knight drew his scythe and engaged Korrina.

The Death Knight's weapon was called the Scythe of Sariel. It wasn't one of the 10 relics, but its power was equal if not superior to them. The two seemed evenly matched at first, but the Death Knight seemed to deal far more damage with his attacks. Eventually, Shamir decided to step in and lend a hand, shooting the Death Knight with her bow. Shamir's arrows did a ton of damage, but the Death Knight eventually caught on and easily floored the expert sniper. While the Death Knight's back was turned, Korrina tried to lasso the Scythe of Sariel with the Sword of the Creator. However, The Death Knight electrified the scythe and the shock overloaded Korrina's heart. The Death Knight then began to slice away at the now weakened Korrina while ranting about his disappointment of how easy the fight was. Most of the Black Eagles tried to come to Korrina's aid, but the Death Knight swatted them all away like flies. The Death Knight then prepared to finish Korrina once and for all, but he was stopped by a towering masked figure saying that the Death Knight was having too much fun. This figure then gave Korrina some medicine saying it was too soon for her to perish. Korrina finally gathered enough strength to ask who or what this figure was, to which it said it was the Flame Emperor that would reforge the world. Without further explanation, the Flame Emperor teleported himself (?) and the Death Knight outside the corridor. Once Linhardt finished healing everybody, they took Flayn and the other girl and left. Because Korrina had taken the most damage, she was taken with the other 2 to the infirmary.

Later, Ferdinand guided Seteth to the infirmary. The sheer joy and relief that Seteth felt upon seeing his dear sister again could never have been verbalized. After the reunion, Seteth turned to Korrina to thank her profusely. Korrina responded by saying, "You and Flayn are the pillars of this community. Besides, I couldn't imagine the pain I'd feel if I had a sister and that happened to her." Seteth then turned to himself and suspected that Flayn was targeted due to her bloodline. He wanted to leave the continent with her, but Flayn stopped him and offered to become a student in Korrina's class instead. Korrina agreed, as she felt that the Black Eagles would be able to give her more than adequate protection against future attackers. Korrina and Seteth had finally made peace…for now.


	8. The Battle of the Eagle and Lion Deer

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 8: Battle of the Eagle and Lion + Deer

Once Korrina got out of the infirmary, the rest of the month went by without a hitch. An APB was sent out for Jeritza after everyone found out he was the Death Knight, but he never returned. Perhaps he started over in another town, or perhaps he was just waiting to strike again. Either way, Korrina was relieved to not have to deal with him again for a while. Manuela also recovered, but she also became obsessed with bringing down the Death Knight and doubled down on her drinking habits. This caused Korrina to have to look after her and take over for her lectures for the Golden Deer since a hungover teacher is not always effective. Flayn made a full recovery and quickly adjusted to her new life as a student, but the way she emphasized how long it's been since she was allowed to interact with other people lead many to speculate her true age (sometimes even out in the open). The girl with the uniform was revealed to be a former student named Monica. She recovered quickly and transferred over to the Black Eagles to finish her final year, but she was never good with participation and only ever spoke to Edelgard. Hilda viewed this quick recovery as a sign of suspicion, but at the time, Korrina dismissed Monica's behavior as a different way of coping with trauma. In time, Korrina would come to regret this carelessness.

As the month came to an end, the Battle of the Eagle and Lion was announced. Korrina felt quite embarrassed at the news, as she admittedly forgot all about it in the chaos of the past few months. However, Korrina was confident that the Black Eagles had been through enough harrowing experiences to be ready for anything the other 2 houses would have to throw at her. Unfortunately, Hanneman and Manuela both believed that the same about their own house. Although Manuela had to sit out the battle due to her grievous injuries and Hanneman did the same out of respect for his lifelong rival, they both believed that their students were trained to utter perfection and guaranteed to win decisively. This caused Korrina to rant: "Pushed your students to the limit, you say? You don't even know the half of it, Manuela. MY students have experienced things I'm not even allowed to talk about, things that forced them to adapt or die. Those hellish experiences have forged them into peak warriors physically and mentally equipped to handle ANYTHING you have to throw at them. Rest assured a mere mock battle will be absolutely nothing to them." Hanneman merely responded by saying "Don't worry. We'll see if that bluster holds any weight to it soon enough." Manuela then chimed in and said, "And Korrina? You'd best keep that temper in check when the actual day comes. It would be embarrassing if the only professor participating lost because she got flustered." With that, the other 2 professors took their leave. Although this slight outburst gave Hanneman an idea about Korrina's potential weakness, the Black Eagles were listening and mostly just honored that their own professor had that much faith in them.

Although the spirit of competition was beginning to heat up among the 3 houses, Seteth tried to alleviate this tension with a lower stakes fishing tournament in honor of his newly rescued sister. Although some balked at the silliness of the idea, participation was much higher than expected. Not only did many from the Black Eagles participate (save for Edelgard, Hubert, Monica and Linhardt), but Korrina was also able to meet back up with her first crush Catherine and Alois. She even met 2 eventual friends from the Golden Deer: a hulking but pure hearted strongman named Raphael and a meek art enthusiast with a bowl cut and glasses named Ignatz. It ultimately came down to Korrina, Catherine, and Raphael. All 3 of them took up most of the fish that day, but in the end, Korrina won the competition. Unfortunately, Korrina wasn't able to eat any of it since her heart responded especially poorly to fish. At least she was able to attract a majority of the competitors in that tournament, so it wasn't all for naught.

Later on, Silvain got a letter from his father. Apparently, his brother's pack of thieves came back together to cause trouble, and it was up to Silvain to handle them. His father wanted him to come alone, but even one as skilled with a horse as Silvain couldn't hope to take a bunch of thieves by himself. Thus, he turned to Korrina for help. Korrina obliged, as the extra experience could be beneficial to the Black Eagles. Korrina's strategy was to split up into each corner of the town and box in the thieves. Once they were found out, the thieves tried to make a hasty retreat. However, they were routed before most of them could even see the exit. The fact that they were on horseback made Silvain and Bernadetta vital assets to this operation. With no true leader anymore, the thieves were borderline helpless against the more organized Black Eagles. At the end of it, Silvain's father gave back the Lance of Ruin and admitted he was using the situation as a test to see if Silvain had become competent enough to use it yet. Although Silvain coming with reinforcements kinda defeated the purpose, it at least proved that he had strong allies he could rely on if the going ever got tough.

Although most of the focus in this month was the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, the revelation that a trafficking gang had set up base inside Garreg Mach left everyone on edge. The encampments of similar gangs around the place didn't help matters, either. Caspar especially became more paranoid about his surroundings as he began to lash out at anyone he deemed suspicious. One night, he even charged a stranger who got too close to a group of children in hopes of preventing another kidnapping. Thankfully, his suspicions were justified on that occasion. However, Korrina had to hold Caspar back and lecture him about exercising caution multiple times throughout the month.

As the Battle of the Eagle and Lion began to approach, Korrina approached Jeralt about coming to watch her in the upcoming fight. Unfortunately, Jeralt and his men were tasked with weeding out suspicious individuals in the area to make sure the event goes as planned. Although the event itself was low stakes in comparison to the last several missions, Jeralt still felt concerned. Not only were more suspicious individuals beginning to show up around Garreg Mach, but the investigation team never came back. This prompted Jeralt to begin setting up his final requests. If he died, Korrina was to search his room thoroughly for something and read his diary. The diary would tell Korrina everything she wanted and needed to know, and the thing Jeralt hid for her was of more personal importance. This talk of death naturally caused Korrina to be concerned for her father's life. "Stop talking like that!", Korrina interjected, "You're the only family I have! If you died, life here just wouldn't be the same!" Jeralt thought for a moment, then put his arm on his daughter's shoulder and said, "Don't cry. This old man has no plans of dying just yet. If I did, though, you would be more than able to fight for yourself. I can't believe I'm saying this, but this monastery has brought out the best in you. I was hesitant at first, but this is the perfect place for you. Perhaps you were meant to be here all along. Whatever happens, I couldn't think of a better place for you anymore. Things will turn out okay. I know it." With this, Jeralt embraced Korrina and they went their separate ways.

When the fated day arrived, the 3 Houses converged at a place called Gronder Field. Apparently, this place belongs to Caspar's family and sustains the Adestrian Empire with the crops grown here. Thankfully, this event was specifically planned after the harvesting season ended so the battle wouldn't interfere with anything. On the way, Hubert slipped back into his passive aggressive demeanor and told Korrina that failure would be on her. Ferdinand was also feeling overconfident and offered to lead in Korrina's place. This then lead to a clash of egos and soon enough, Caspar got excited and tried to make this a free for all. Korrina got intensely frustrated and said, "Enough! How can we expect to win anything if you insist on fighting amongst yourselves!? If we are to attain victory today, we must be a united front." These words brought the Black Eagles back to their senses, pleasing Korrina. She then said, "I'm relieved you understand. Soon we will reach the field of engagement. Today, we will remind those fools who the real power in this continent is! The Eagle will soar and the Lion will sleep! LONG LIVE THE ADESTRIAN EMPIRE!" Most of the other Black Eagles responded with a unified "LONG LIVE THE ADESTRIAN EMPIRE!" and charged forward with renewed vigor. Silvain was not as enthused as he was originally one of the Blue Lions, but he appreciated Korrina's effort to raise people's spirits and accompanied his new comrades into battle.

The 3 houses arranged into a triangular formation, with each taking a different angle. The Golden Deer took the right angle, the Blue Lions took the left, and the Black Eagles took the top. Because neither of the other houses believed that the Black Eagles were fully prepared for this grand mock battle, they each sent a team led by a single person (Ingrid and Ignatz respectively) while the rest concentrated on one another. Ignatz was easy to deal with as he was never a big fighter. Ingrid, however, was a much different story. The Black Eagles had never had to face Pegasus knights before, and before long, Ingrid was beginning to pick off Korrina's men one by one. Korrina was left with no choice but to use Divine Pulse and rethink her strategy. Thankfully, there was no rule against using Divine Pulse. This time, Korrina had Edelgard and Caspar wait in the nearby forest and wait for Ingrid. Caspar tried to shoot Ingrid off her Pegasus with arrows while Edelgard would emerge from the forest and smash Ingrid off the Pegasus with an axe if she got too close. This plan succeeded and now the Black Eagles were free to go on the offensive. The Black Eagles split into 3. Most of them went southeast to engage the Golden Deer as they were now considered the biggest threat after the previous mock battle. Edelgard, Hubert and Caspar took men southwest to catch the Blue Lions from the rear. Korrina took Ferdinand and Petra and headed straight south to capture the fort in the middle. Thanks to Ferdinand's high defense, the Black Eagles were easily able to take the fort and knock Ashe off the ballista on the top. Seeing the plan succeed, the main force then swerved around to the fort in hopes of leading the Golden Deer to the fort and giving the Black Eagles the advantage. Unfortunately, the Golden Deer had enough cavalry to cut off the main force and route them. Thus, Korrina used Divine Pulse again and encouraged the main force to hide in the forest instead and wait for her to come for them. The main force was annoyed at this change of tactics, but it worked. The extra cover prevented the Golden Deer from landing any decisive blows while Bernadetta shot anyone who came for them with her trusty bow. Before long, Korrina and Ferdinand came to wipe out the remaining Golden Deer. Now that the Black Eagles had the advantage, they then closed in on the battle between the Golden Deer and Blue Lions and started to pick off the exhausted armies. Because the Blue Lions focused nearly all their resources on facing the Golden Deer, they still had plenty of men left to face the Black Eagles with. A mighty but mighty rude swordsman with black hair named Felix kept Edelgard, Hubert and Caspar at bay, but getting repeatedly hit by the ballista eventually took its toll on him and he fell. Edelgard, Hubert and Caspar were now free to engage the Blue Lions from their rear and sandwich them. Eventually, Dimitri was all that remained. Dimitri was clearly trying to suppress his inner bloodlust in an effort to keep the integrity of the sport intact, but this ironically proved his undoing as he only used a fraction of his true skill and strength against the Black Eagles. Korrina thought she had won, but Claude still remained. He was also trying to snipe enemies from inside the forest, but the only advantage this gave was the fact that everyone but the people officiating the event forgot about him. The Black Eagles then had to go all the way back to the Golden Deer corner and drag Claude out of there kicking and screaming. Claude was an expert marksman but he couldn't stop all of the Black Eagles. With his defeat, the Black Eagles had decisively won the Battle of the Eagle and Lion.

A feast was proposed to break down the walls set up by this competition, but Korrina couldn't eat any of the food provided since none of it agreed with her heart, so she had to leave the monastery and find food elsewhere. As Korrina was leaving, she bumped into Edelgard. Edelgard wanted a more quiet place to reflect on her destiny. Edelgard originally thought she would have to face her future alone, but the events of that day had finally convinced her that she could share the burden and rely on others sometimes. Edelgard finally trusted Korrina enough to tell the truth about her past. House Hresvelg (her house) often relied on the Crest of Seiros to maintain its legitimacy. Edelgard was the only one born with that crest, and it was a minor one too. Thus, Edelgard and her siblings were taken underground to have the power of a crest forced upon them. Edelgard's siblings weren't killed by a disease, they were killed by medical malpractice. Their flesh was cut open and incompatible blood was forced into their bodies. When there weren't experiments, the most Edelgard could look forward to was a dark, smelly chamber full of rats. Edelgard was the only survivor, and she was determined to tear the system responsible for this crime against humanity limb from limb. With this, Edelgard finally revealed her key to changing the world, her second crest: the Crest of Flames. Korrina was astounded and said, "Do you know what this means?" Edelgard responded with a "Yes. It is both a symbol of the past and the source of my powers. I will use it to build a new world where such cruelty can never happen again." Korrina responded with "No, silly. We're sisters. REAL sisters. Neither of us ever have to be alone again." Korrina then embraced Edelgard in a tackling hug and wept tears of joy at the fact that this whole time, she had more family than just Jeralt out there. Edelgard didn't have the heart to tell Korrina that that was the crest given to her by those experiments. However, Edelgard did share her natural crest (The Crest of Seiros) with Jeralt, so the chances of them being related were still extremely high. From then on, Korrina and Edelgard stuck together, sharing their burdens, secrets, hopes and dreams.


	9. Paternal Bonds

**Korrina and the Black Eagles **

Chapter 8: Paternal Bonds

Although the Battle of the Eagle and Lion was mildly stressful, the assignment Korrina would receive the following month would leave her longing for those low scale days again. The people of Remire Village had been acting in most unnatural ways, and it was up to the Black Eagles to find out what was happening. The knights who were initially dispatched initially dismissed the phenomena as mere disease, but neither Manuela nor Korrina truly believed that hypothesis. The fact that most of the symptoms were violent behavior changes and mood swings, it was easier to assume that someone was trying to put the entirety of Remire Village under some sort of trance. Korrina suspected that the Flame Emperor could be behind the occurrences, but without any proof or way to track the Flame Emperor, all Korrina could do was wait and see if any further developments occurred. In the meantime, Korrina was somewhat grateful to be addressing crises again. She was beginning to tire of Sothis berating everyone for "wasting so many valuable resources on a mock battle when the Death Knight is still out there."

The moment classes started for what we would call November, Petra made a massive breakthrough. Thanks to Ingrid's training, she was finally able to become a full-fledged Pegasus knight. Now Petra could watch for and deter invasions from a place no one from Brigid could ever reach before: the sky. If Petra could just teach this skill to her people, Brigid could be transformed from just a steppingstone between Adestria and Dagda to a respectable military power that could never be conquered or overrun again. Although this path was still a long way away, most of Petra's classmates took her seriously and prayed that Adestria would never have to face the new and improved Brigid that Petra had in mind. Thankfully, Petra's time as a "guest" had at least opened her mind to the outside world and she was accepting of a more peaceful end to the feud between Brigid and Adestria. Elsewhere in the class, Hubert had mastered the dark arts and become a dark mage (much to everyone's anxiety about the future), Dorothea doubled down on healing magic in hopes of attaining greater versatility, Flayn started learning magic so she could defend herself if the need arises, and Bernadetta started learning how to use swords and spears so she wouldn't be helpless if someone decided to engage her up close. Everyone else mostly stuck to what they were already practicing.

The next weekend, Korrina caught Seteth trying to leave the monastery and arguing with Flayn the whole way through. When Korrina asked what was going on, Seteth explained that the Western Church had taken control of the cemetery at a place called Rhodos Coast. "I thought you purged the Western Church months ago!", Korrina exclaimed with confusion. Seteth then explained, "Just because we deposed the Western Church doesn't mean we erased it altogether. A new bishop was supposed to have been instated, but it seems the people behind this attack are reluctant to accept his rule at the very least." Korrina then said, "Sounds like an understatement to me" before entering a state of thought. After a minute of deliberation, Korrina said, "Let my class go with you, Seteth. Even if it's just the Western Church, it's still too dangerous for you to engage them alone." Seteth understood the logic and agreed to take the Black Eagles and Flayn with him.

It was safe to say that none of the Black Eagles expected Seteth to board a dragon and fly to Rhodos. Everyone just thought that Seteth would be a mere bishop, and it kinda annoyed him that people underestimated his capabilities. When it was discovered that the exact monument that Seteth wanted to protect was on an island, a plan was formed. Petra and Seteth would reclaim the monument while everyone else would drive the Western Church from the coast. It was a risky plan, but Seteth and Petra were the only people who could reach that island. Once the mission began, it was made immediately clear that the Black Eagles were used to fighting in the sand. Bernadetta, Silvain and Ferdinand were as good as useless in this fight as neither horses nor heavy armor moved well in the sandy beach. Because Edelgard, Hubert, Dorothea and Linhardt were the only ones who could still fight well in the sand, they were placed on the front lines for the first time. Because the Western Church mostly consisted of mages, this strategy seemed to pay off. However, the Western Church still had a few swordfighters that could have made short work of Dorothea and Linhardt. Fortunately, Caspar and Korrina were close behind to save the day. If the swordfighters proved too tough, Korrina always had access to Divine Pulse. Seteth and Petra had a slightly tougher challenge as it was just the two of them, but their mounts allowed for lifesaving hit and run tactics. The battle eventually devolved into Seteth and Petra picking off a few enemies on the island, flying back to the mainland for Linhardt to heal them, then going back for some more enemies. After hours of repetition, Seteth achieved his goal of driving the Western Church from Rhodos. The Western Church was indeed more competent and powerful than before, but they were still perfectly beatable.

After the battle, Korrina noticed Seteth and Flayn paying their respects in a much more personal manner than appropriate. When Korrina pressed for details, Seteth explained that the monument was also dedicated to Seteth's wife. This made a small bit of sense to Korrina as she figured a pious man like Seteth would want to bury his wife in a place of religious significance, but then Flayn referred to Seteth's wife as her mother. This caused Korrina to put 2 and 2 together and realize that Seteth had been hiding something from everyone. Seteth then confirmed that Flayn was indeed his daughter and the 2 were going under false identities to protect her, but there was more. Seteth and the saint that monument was dedicated to were one and the same, and Flayn was supposedly considered a saint in her own right. That was why Flayn's blood was so important. Korrina swore to keep this a secret, and in time, she would be grateful she did. As they went home, Korrina pulled Edelgard aside for a chat. Korrina first asked her sister if she was serious about deposing the goddess. Edelgard nodded, to which Korrina elaborated, "If your dream comes to fruition, we will eventually have to face Seteth. If we win that battle, Flayn will be left all alone. Are you certain that this is what you want?" This information definitely made Edelgard think about what she was doing for a moment, but she stood firm in her ambition and said that nothing could ever be made better if those with the power to make change are afraid of the consequences. Korrina was disheartened but understood where Edelgard was coming from. Before they rejoined the Black Eagles, Korrina reaffirmed to her sister, "No matter what, I plan to stay by your side. We're sisters, and nothing can change that. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the consequences of our actions before you start anything." Edelgard appreciated the concern, but this exchange only seemed to heighten Hubert's suspicion about Korrina's worth as an ally (something he would pester her about for the rest of the month).

On the next Garreg Mach Women's Association, Ingrid had come asking about a letter from her father. She was to be married to a new noble that was rapidly climbing the social ladder back in Faerghus, but she didn't know him at all and was somewhat concerned. Ingrid didn't want to defy her father, but she didn't quite trust her new fiancée. This subject, unfortunately, caused Bernadetta to mentally shut down, causing the sisterhood to switch priorities and help her back to her room while Dorothea stayed with Ingrid to get some more information about this mysterious suitor. When the sisterhood returned, they found Dorothea insisting that Ingrid not go through with this marriage. Apparently, the guy that Ingrid was to marry was an unapologetic scoundrel who made his fortune through nefarious means and aggressively hit on Dorothea in the past. Ingrid believed Dorothea, but still felt that going through with the marriage was the right thing to do as her own house (Galatea) was a very small house with poor land that needed a miracle to keep from going bankrupt. However, no one else in the sisterhood agreed, and Dorothea came up with the idea to prove to Lord Galatea that marrying his daughter (Ingrid) to this person is a terrible idea. Everyone agreed, and the Garreg Mach Women's Association + Black Eagles set out for this suitor's home in the Valley of Torment (named so because of its volcanic nature).

Although many on this "field trip" (Linhardt and Hilda in particular) despised having to wade through the Valley of Torment if they didn't have to, the journey was far from fruitless. Thanks to Hubert's distressingly high skill in espionage, they were able to catch Ingrid's fiancée having multiple affairs with women he didn't even treat well and learn that his entire fortune was "earned" through profiting off of minor conflicts and bandit raids. As the Black Eagles and Garreg Mach Women's Association started to leave, however, countless bandits and merchants arrived to kill them. The reason being that their client had seen the Garreg Mach Women's Association waiting outside, figured out their plan, and ordered them all killed (even Ingrid) to ensure the truth about him didn't get out. The enemy was overwhelmingly large in number, and the way out long and full of branching paths. Since Ingrid and Petra could ride Pegasi, they were able to fly above the pools of lava and get a better look at the enemy. From there, it didn't take long for Petra to pinpoint the enemy commanders and relay the information to everyone else. With this information, Korrina sent Edelgard, Hubert, Caspar, Ferdinand, Mercedes and Annette to go right and take out one of the commanders while the rest go south. The hot and uneven terrain made for horrible fighting conditions, and the fact that the bandits and merchants were more familiar with the Valley of Torment only made things worse. Korrina, Hilda, Dorothea, Silvain, and Lysithea fought as hard as they could, but the bandits wouldn't stop coming, and the heat was beginning to take a toll on all of them. Eventually, Hilda finally got sick of the situation and released a power no one knew she had, suddenly one shotting multiple bandits with a single wrathful sweep of her axe. Lysithea used her bottomless pool of magic to finish off the initial pack, allowing Korrina's group to finally head south and take out the first commander. Although Petra tried to get Ingrid to safety, they were eventually stymied by a pack of archers and forced to hide above the lava where their arrows couldn't reach until reinforcements came. Fortunately, Korrina's group was able to blindside and defeat the pack of archers (as well as their commander) with much greater ease. Around this time, Edelgard's team had finished taking out the enemy forces to the right and the teams merged. With the way out in sight, they all made a collective push south. A few bandits tried to lay one final trap, but for the first time that day, they were the outnumbered ones. The Black Eagles and Garreg Mach Women's Association easily dealt with this last batch of bandits, then made their way to House Galatea with the information they found. The good news was that Ingrid's father believed them and called off the marriage. The bad news was that Korrina went beyond what her heart could take this time and needed to be carried back to the monastery while Linhardt, Mercedes, and Flayn did their best to keep Korrina from lapsing into a coma or worse.

The first thing Korrina saw when she came to was her father Jeralt. "You came for me again…", Korrina said weakly. Jeralt responded with "You should thank those brats for taking you all the way back. I don't know how you were able to make them respect you like that, but if it wasn't for them, you'd be dead by now." Korrina understood, yet she was also quite moved that her father was still this invested in her health. Despite her state, Korrina was able to get out a natural smile. It was the first time since coming to Garreg Mach that Korrina looked at Jeralt that way, and it did not go unnoticed by him. Jeralt smiled back and tucked her in to bed like he did when she was a child. Before leaving, Jeralt said, "Get well soon, kid. We got a big week ahead of us."

Once Korrina recovered, she went to check on Bernadetta. Thankfully, Bernadetta was in a much better mood that day. After a bit of small talk, Korrina got to the point and said, "What made you such a recluse in the first place, and why do you always freak out when we start talking about fathers?" Bernadetta finally trusted Korrina enough to tell the truth, but Korrina was not at all prepared for Bernadetta's response. Apparently, Bernadetta's father, Count Varley, was a greedy monster who only ever viewed her as an item to ship to another noble in exchange for more money and power. As far back as Bernadetta could remember, her father was grooming her to be a "good, submissive wife". The worst of her father's training was the multiple times he would tie her to a chair and leave her there all day. If Bernadetta spoke, moved, or even made a single noise, her father's men (if not her father himself) would beat her horribly. Bernadetta was also socially isolated, with any "commoner" friends she made disappearing the next day. Eventually Bernadetta stopped wanting to leave her room at all, but this only caused her father to drag her out literally kicking and screaming. It got so bad that her mother had her kidnapped and brought to Garreg Mach out of fear for her safety. Korrina trembled in horror as Bernadetta described these occurrences, and when Bernadetta finished, she said, "Bernadetta, that man is not a father but a monster. No self-respecting dad would EVER put their child through all of that." Bernadetta could not understand why Korrina was always so nice to her and began to break down again. Korrina waited until Bernadetta was finished, then said, "Bernadetta, I want you to promise me something." Bernadetta nodded through her tears, prompting Korrina to elaborate, "Never go back to House Varley. Never attempt to see that monster again. Stay here at Garreg Mach and forge your own identity." Bernadetta understood what Korrina was saying, but the abuse was so deeply ingrained in her that she didn't really know what to do with her life. Korrina then said, "That I cannot answer. You and only you can decide what you are. You don't even have to make that decision today. For now, I'll leave you be. Farewell, Bernadetta." Korrina then took her leave, leaving Bernadetta relieved yet confused on where to go now.

As the preparations for Remire Village went fully underway, many of the Black Eagles began to take note of the growing number of strange occurrences and people popping up lately. After hearing Hubert's take on everything that happened that year, Korrina started to believe that the events were all connected, but Edelgard disagreed. She thought that all the events going on were part of multiple competing plans and that the land around Garreg Mach was more an unfortunate battleground than an actual stage for something much bigger. Korrina asked how Edelgard was so sure of that, but Edelgard insisted that she, too, was merely hypothesizing. Before the 2 could go into further discussion, however, Jeralt burst into the room claiming that they had an emergency. Apparently, most of the villagers turned immensely violent in a split second and started killing each other. Also, a fire had supposedly broken out. Without asking much questions, the Black Eagles stormed out of the monastery hoping to defuse the situation before it could get any worse.

The situation in Remire Village was far worse than Jeralt described. The air became polluted with smoke and both cries for help and murderous screams long before the Black Eagles and Knights of Seiros even reached Remire Village. The whole time, Sothis was cursing Rhea's name for "allowing this to happen". When they finally reached Remire Village, they found visibly entranced people with no pupils attacking normal villagers and each other. For the first time, Korrina was at a loss for what to do. Killing the berserk villagers could easily be misconstrued as the church killing innocent people, but if they did too little, then everyone would die anyway. There just didn't seem to be a good answer to this situation. Thanks to this indecisiveness, Caspar and Jeralt took matters into their own hands. Caspar just wanted to knock everyone out before they could cause more trouble, and Jeralt elaborated on this, ordering his men to arrest anyone without pupils before they could kill anyone else. This seemed like the most acceptable way out at the time, so Korrina decided to follow Jeralt's lead on this. Petra used her Pegasus to fly above the burning houses and get as many people to safety as possible while the rest spread out to arrest/knock out the more berserk villagers. Flayn, Dorothea, Caspar, Bernadetta and Ferdinand took the right while Korrina, Edelgard, Hubert, Silvain and Linhardt took the left. Although defeating the rampaging villagers was an easy task due to their inferior equipment, most of them wouldn't stop attacking until they died for good. This, combined with the fire raging on all sides, made for a rather traumatizing experience. Some of the villagers could be saved, but the lack of oxygen from the fire made it impossible to conduct a detailed search for normal villagers without risking even more lives.

As Petra finished her combing of the perimeter, she sought out Korrina and Jeralt to inform them that a group of mages on the cliff above the village seemed to be behind the chaos. Their leader also appeared to be the old librarian Tomas. Everyone was confused as to what to make of this. They all thought Tomas a tad creepy and suspicious, but they didn't expect him to pull something like this. Yes, Tomas took a leave of absence in the weeks leading up to this, but because he was so old, everyone thought he was merely retiring once and for all. Everyone made a collective push to the back of the village, where they indeed found Tomas controlling the villagers. When questioned why, Tomas didn't even bother making excuses. He openly admitted that his name wasn't even Tomas. The librarian then transformed into a much older and more grotesque man with white hair, bulging veins, and an eye black as night. The "man" then reintroduced himself as Solon and stated that he was merely assuming the disguise of a friendly librarian to get a hold of Flayn's blood. As for the chaos happening in Remire Village, however, Solon merely said that he was conducting an experiment without any further explanation. As the Black Eagles began to climb the cliff and fight off Solon's coworkers, the Death Knight reappeared to protect his client. Seeing the Death Knight caused Korrina to change course and go for him instead, convinced that this time would be different. Fortunately, Korrina was more aware of the Death Knight's capabilities and knew better than to touch the Scythe of Sariel at all. This time, Korrina actively dodged the Death Knight's scythe and aimed her attacks squarely at him. Being on horseback made the Death Knight even faster than before, but there wasn't a ton of changes to his overall fighting style. This game of dodging the Death Knight's charges and parrying him as he got close continued for a few more rounds until Jeralt reached Solon and defeated him with two blows. This action caused the both of them to retreat, and the nightmare finally ended.

With no additional reason to stay in Remire, everyone got far away from the inferno that was once a town before anyone could asphyxiate from the lack of oxygen or moisture. Noone was happy with the outcome, but given the circumstances, there was nothing more anyone could have done. As Korrina and Jeralt assessed the damage, they were greeted by a surprise visitor: the Flame Emperor. Korrina and Jeralt were quick to blame him (?) for this mess, but he(?) claimed innocence. The Flame Emperor then stated, "It is true that Solon and his kind…created me, but that doesn't mean I am their pawn. I have always objected to their deplorable methods. However, my cries have always fallen on deaf ears. That is…until I learned of your existence." Both Korrina and Jeralt were taken aback by this, causing the Flame Emperor to elaborate: "When I learned of a descendant of Nemesis raised by the finest commander in the land, I knew you were my only hope of rebellion. Thus, I started pulling strings of my own. I hired those bandits to attack Remire Village so the Knights of Seiros would find you. After that, I lead the Western Church to the holy mausoleum so you would be united with the Sword of the Creator. Finally, I helped that lost child from House Gautier steal the Lance of Ruin so that you understood the nature of your 'gift'." After this piece of exposition, the Flame Emperor got to the point and offered to help Korrina fight Solon. Korrina thought for a second, turned to her father, then said, "A good offer, but I don't trust you. You still lead multiple people to their deaths after all, so you're not much better." The Flame Emperor was disappointed but not surprised, and teleported away before a fight could break out.

Although Hubert said that Edelgard disappeared some time after Solon and the Death Knight left, Edelgard was truthfully safe and waiting for their return at the monastery. When Hubert asked where she was, Edelgard simply said that she couldn't bear to be in Remire Village any longer than she needed to. However, the fact that Edelgard sounded more like she was being asked about why she wasn't studying than actually traumatized made Korrina doubt whether her "sister" was telling the truth. Even more suspiciously, Edelgard did not seem all that surprised to hear about the Flame Emperor's appearance. After some conversation about what happened with the Flame Emperor, Edelgard stated that maybe one day, the Flame Emperor would unmask himself(?) and let Korrina look in his (?) eyes and truly evaluate him (?). This sounded a ton of alarm bells in Korrina's head, and Edelgard could sense it. Just afterward, Monica appeared to take Edelgard away (again). Korrina was always somewhat distrustful of Monica, but now she was beginning to suspect Edelgard as well. Korrina began to have thoughts about Edelgard and the Flame Emperor being connected, but she wasn't quite ready to accept that idea yet. In that moment, Korrina merely shook her head and said "It couldn't be. Edelgard's too short to be the Flame Emperor" before going back to her room to deliberate with Sothis.


	10. Love and Tragedy

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 10: Love and Tragedy

Rhea's response to the tragedy of Remire Village was quite predictable: she offered her hopes and prayers to the victims and expressed shock at Tomas being a spy. While Sothis continued to scold Rhea for her supposed naivete and incompetence, Korrina held off this voice and merely said, "I'm not as surprised. That old man always had something off about him. He always studied us thoroughly and had a rather dark aura about him. I just didn't expect that he would actually try something like what he did to Remire Village." Seteth then did some reflection, saying that Tomas was sent to the monastery from House Ordelia (Lysithea's house) 40 years ago. Tomas then went back to House Ordelia 8 years ago before returning a year before Korrina was discovered. Seteth wasn't able to make sense of all this since Tomas had worked at Garreg Mach for so long and never seemed at all displeased or disgruntled. Korrina, however, had an idea. She said, "I think you're viewing this from the wrong angle, Seteth. There is a strong possibility that House Ordelia or someone else had sent Tomas as a spy from the very beginning. The librarian you knew may not have even existed in the first place." Seteth, however, was not as certain. He believed that something had happened to Tomas in the 6 years he was away from Garreg Mach and that he had simply been killed and replaced by someone else. Korrina accepted the possibility, but nevertheless recommended a thorough investigation into House Ordelia. Unfortunately, Remire Village would certainly not be the last of the disturbing events going on. The next day, a report of a break in at a nearby chapel was sent to Rhea and investigating the matter would be the Black Eagles' mission for the month we call December. Due to the way Remire Village turned out, Sir Jeralt was sent to once again accompany the Black Eagles for this mission.

Either despite or because of how grim things had become as of late, many festivities were planned for the month we call December. Although Sothis denounced the events as yet more wastes of time that could easily be used tracking Solon and investigating that chapel, Korrina for one welcomed the festivities with open arms. After all, there wasn't a ton of time for celebrating ANYTHING as a mercenary and Korrina needed some time to mentally recover after the sheer catastrophe that occurred last month. The first event that Rhea had in mind was something called the White Heron Cup. This was an annual dancing competition where each house picked their most charismatic person to represent them in a dance off. The winner got an opportunity to pursue dancing as a professional career. Korrina instantly thought of Flayn as the representative for the Black Eagles. Although Flayn didn't have much in the way of charisma, she was always dancing to herself with a most contagious air of joy. With enough practice, she could potentially wow any judge with her purity and fluidity. Although Korrina didn't have much experience in dancing, Ferdinand most certainly did. This event had caused him to go on and on about his "performances" at the balls his father used to hold (even while Korrina was trying to instruct). This caused Korrina to challenge Ferdinand to "put his money where his mouth was" and help prepare Flayn for the competition.

After a week or two had passed, the White Heron cup began in full. Alois was the master of ceremonies and head judge (a fitting role given his bombastic nature and charisma). Manuela was the second judge to the surprise of no one, but Shamir's appointment as the final judge came as a surprise as she didn't strike anyone as the type of person who was really into dancing. After these introductions were over with, the contestants presented themselves. Flayn's appointment unnerved the judges (especially since Seteth was in the front row and paying very close attention), but the general audience seemed to enjoy it. The Blue Lions chose Dedue. This move shocked the general audience, but Korrina seemed to understand. Dedue's heart was almost as pure as Flayn, and once one saw that side of him, the thought of him wanting to dance stopped being such a surprise. Predictably, Claude chose himself to represent the Golden Deer. It was somewhat obvious that Claude was just here to have a good time, and he even laughed along with the audience and cracked a few jokes to rub in the absurdity of the situation. As the competition began, Claude went for an energetic, ragtime style number. Claude was very clumsy and inexperienced, but he wasn't taking the event seriously to begin with. Besides, Claude was effectively able to masquerade his mistakes as deliberate efforts to make the audience smile and laugh. Manuela and Shamir groaned in embarrassment, but the general audience seemed to enjoy his routine. It was Dedue's turn next, and he went for a more solemn and elegant style that almost seemed to tell his personal story. Some of the general audience couldn't look past Dedue's ethnicity, but those who didn't care about that found themselves swept away by Dedue's performance. Every move had purpose and meaning, and his sadness of the past and his treatment from others was put on full display. By the time Dedue finished, Manuela was bawling her eyes out from the inner beauty of it all. Finally, it was Flayn's turn. Flayn didn't try as hard as her competitors, but she didn't need to. Unlike her competitors, Flayn had been dancing her whole life (she just didn't do it professionally due to her status as a saint) and only needed a few pointers on how to clean up her movements and look professional. On the stage, Flayn's style and experience truly blossomed. Flayn's movements were lighthearted and giddy, but streamlined and natural. Never once did Flayn appear out of her element. She appeared to be having the time of her life up there, and the joy quickly spread to everyone in the room. Even Seteth was beaming the whole time his daughter was up there. By the contest's end, Flayn was the unanimous winner. A few people thought that Flayn was only chosen to appease Seteth, but she did at least earn the victory on her own merits. Flayn rushed toward Seteth and embraced him in sheer joy of her accomplishment. Seteth, too, was visibly proud of his daughter's well-earned victory. Dedue was upset but understanding, and Claude was a bit disappointed that the judges didn't like him at all. Flayn and Seteth celebrated their victory with a private fishing trip.

The second and much bigger event was the grand ball held on the day we call Christmas. It was an annual event that is oftentimes highly anticipated. During Korrina's chat with the gatekeeper, he revealed that if a man and woman go to the Goddess Tower on this day and make a wish, it would surely come true. The gatekeeper had a wish, but he had no one that wanted to make the climb with him. Hearing this, Korrina told the gatekeeper that she would go with him. The gatekeeper was quite shocked that someone would actually want to be with him, but he was in no mood to play humble and refuse the request. Most of the people at the Garreg Mach Women's association said it was a good choice, but Dorothea, Leonie and Hilda advised that Korrina go on a date with the gatekeeper first to see if this was truly the man she wanted. Korrina admittedly wasn't looking this far ahead, but she felt it would be a good idea anyway. Although it took a while to find a day off for the gatekeeper, the payoff was immense. Korrina and the gatekeeper hit it off immediately. The gatekeeper talked about how a lot of people enjoy his company, but never invite him to anything or include him in anything. They never even bothered to learn his name. Korrina could relate, as it was oftentimes just her and Jeralt before coming to Garreg Mach. Everything Korrina knew about other humans before her time as a professor was from observing Jeralt's interactions with others, and she couldn't afford to make friends because of how dangerous mercenary work was. Eventually, Korrina learned to shut off her feelings and become a killing machine whose humanity lie completely with Jeralt. All this changed for the better when Korrina worked at the monastery, and she never wanted to go back again. The gatekeeper admired Korrina's skill, as he wanted to become a full-fledged knight but was never able to climb higher than a simple gatekeeper. The two grew to deeply appreciate one's company, as they grew to fulfill roles that were never even considered before. When the day was over, Korrina asked what the gatekeeper's name was. Grateful that someone asked him, the gatekeeper responded with, "I'm Albein, but you can call me Alm. I was named after the former emperor of a far-off land called Valentia. He was before my time, but I would have loved to meet the guy." That night, Korrina began to feel the same reaction that she felt when she saw Catherine for the first time, but this time, she could handle it. Korrina finally knew love.

On the eve of the ball, the Garreg Mach Women's Association got together to go shopping for clothes for the ball. Korrina, Edelgard, and Petra also needed a bit of catching up to do as they never went to a real ball before. Bernadetta didn't have the most pleasant memories, but she felt slightly more comfortable since she now had Ferdinand backing her up. Annette and Mercedes were probably the most excited about the event, while Lysithea didn't see the big fuss behind it all and was only going because that's what everyone else was doing. On the day of the ball, they met up once again to go as a big group. Korrina took Albein the Gatekeeper, Edelgard took Hubert, Dorothea took Silvain, Bernadetta took Ferdinand, Petra took Caspar, Mercedes took Dimitri, Annette took Ashe, Ingrid took Felix, Hilda took Claude, Leonie took Raphael, and Lysithea and Flayn took nobody. Despite some concerns about the inappropriate timing, the ball was a massive success. Korrina and Albein got to have dances with Catherine. Dimitri reminisced about old times with Edelgard while Hubert watched him with spiteful suspicion. Lysithea and Lindhardt watched from the sidelines and had a decent conversation about the frivolities of mankind. Dorothea and Silvain competed to see how much of the opposite gender they could dance with before settling from one another. Flayn mostly sought out and danced with Seteth as she didn't like the perverted nature of most men (Silvain in particular). Caspar, Claude and Raphael tried to liven things up with some more upbeat and aggressive dancing styles that seemed to lure in the younger students. Everyone had a good time. Eventually, Korrina and Albein the Gatekeeper snuck out and headed for the Goddess Tower.

At the top, Albein thanked Korrina for bringing him with her. Korrina asked what Albein's wish was, to which he answered, "My wish? Very well. My wish is for all the violence in the world, all the evil like what happened to Remire Village, to stop. I want a world where everyone can be happy and never have strife again." This wish was mildly naive, but it touched Korrina. She responded by saying, "Your wish sounds similar to mine. I wish that the evil people like Solon would disappear as well. I also wish that I could stay with the Black Eagles and the Garreg Mach Women's Association and never have to feel loneliness again." The two stayed up there for what felt like an eternity.

After Korrina and Albein the Gatekeeper went their separate ways for the night, Korrina went for a stroll around the monastery before going to bed. While she was walking, she saw Rhea walking too. On a whim, Korrina followed her. After a while, Rhea stopped at a balcony and began to sing. Her voice was pitchy, but still pleasant and alluring. It helped that the song she sang had a nice flow to it. When Rhea hit a break in her song, Korrina said, "I didn't know you could sing, Archbishop." Rhea was surprised that she was being followed but was still happy to see Korrina. Korrina then said, "You have the potential to be a great singer. With the proper vocal training, you could become as good a songstress as Manuela." Rhea thanked Korrina for the offer, but insisted her place was at the monastery. Korrina then asked Rhea what the song was about, to which she replied, "It's something my mother wrote. She was always so protective towards others, and she always had the answer to any problem. I wanted to be like her so badly. Then some awful heathen came and killed her! I got my revenge, but that didn't bring her back. I've tried so many times to revive my mother, but each time ended in failure. This song is all I have left." Korrina then said, "There are things even my Divine Pulse cannot accomplish, but if I could bring her back, I would." Rhea then smiled and said, "You may not know it, but you have more power than you realize. I believe that you will go on to achieve great things with that power lying within you. May the Goddess Sothis continue to guide you on your path to greatness." With this, the two turned in for the night.

The following day, Korrina ran into Alois. The big man was frantically looking for Jeralt, and by sheer coincidence, Jeralt appeared. Alois then gave a report of demonic beasts coming out of the chapel. Both Korrina and Jeralt doubted the authenticity of the report, prompting Alois to elaborate. Apparently, a bunch of students headed towards the chapel in a trance, and only monsters came out. Korrina started to think of the Conand Tower incident but wasn't completely sure. It pained Korrina not to be able to tell her own father what might be going on, but Rhea insisted that Miklan's corruption and transformation be kept under wraps.

When Korrina, Jeralt, and the Black Eagles approached the chapel, they found that that report was 100% true. Black, elastic, and quadrupedal beasts mildly resembling Xenomorphs roamed the area outside the chapel and attacked anyone they saw. A few students had been able to escape before they were transformed, but they were cornered by their transformed comrades. With this, the Black Eagles split up. Bernadetta, Silvain, Petra and Jeralt went for the beasts in the back while everyone else fought the beast near the entrance. Thankfully, these monsters were not as resilient as one Miklan turned into and could be fought off with a group effort. When the first beast fell, no relic was revealed with the now dead student. Instead, a stone with a crest was found with the body. This caused Korrina to wonder if she was wrong and it was really these "crest stones" causing the transformations. When the beasts were all killed and the students rescued, Jeralt and Korrina then went inside the abandoned chapel to see if they could find anything. Unfortunately, whoever was behind all this was already gone. All that remained was a single student: Monica.

Monica thanked the two for saving her and the others, but when she went in to hug Jeralt, she "accidentally" stabbed him in the heart with some sort of knife instead. Korrina shouted "Father!" before turning to Monica and saying, "You…I knew you couldn't be trusted!" Korrina then used divine pulse to kill Monica before she could "hug" Jeralt and kept his memory of being stabbed so he wouldn't ask why. This was the plan, but when Korrina went in for the kill, a tall man that closely resembled Solon shielded the blow and Jeralt was killed a second time. Korrina went back further in time to make a beeline for the chapel and kill Monica while everyone else dealt with the monsters outside, but that old man from before appeared again and overpowered Korrina. Korrina tried over and over again, but it was pointless. Jeralt was simply not meant to survive the day. Eventually, Korrina had to stop trying because all the stress was starting to get to her heart. For the sixth time, Jeralt died in front of Korrina. Monica even mocked Korrina's tiredness before leaving. All Korrina could do was comfort Jeralt in the last seconds of his life. She said, "I'm sorry, dad…". Jeralt then said, "Don't be" before drawing his final breath for the sixth time. For the first time, Korrina was truly alone. The one person she had for most of her life (Jeralt) was gone forever. She thought she could trust Edelgard, but now all that was more in question than ever before. Korrina went back to Garreg Mach with her father's body in tow, no longer sure what to do or who to go to.


	11. Ascension Through Grief

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 11: Ascension Through Grief

Initially, Korrina didn't want to go to Jeralt's funeral. It wasn't anything personal. She just wasn't ready to face that reality yet. Instead, Korrina went to Jeralt's personal quarters to find that diary he was talking about. Said diary was actually quite easy to find. It was sitting on Jeralt's desk in plain view. At first, Jeralt's diary didn't contain too much of importance. He mostly just talked about his mission work and gratitude to Rhea for saving his life. However, things started to get more interesting as Jeralt started describing a woman that could only be Korrina's mother. Apparently, Korrina's mother was one of the higher-ranking nuns whom Jeralt met one day after a rather grievous battle. What really stood out in Jeralt's diary was the entries surrounding the month after Korrina's birth. At first, Korrina was reported to be a stillbirth. After a few minutes passed, Rhea entered the room and put some kind of spell on Korrina and her mother. Korrina's mother passed away seconds afterwards while Korrina finally gained consciousness. Rhea said that Korrina's mother died of childbirth, but Jeralt never believed her at any point in life. At the time, baby Korrina was almost like a zombie. She had little to no heartbeat at all, yet somehow, she was able to keep breathing and functioning (albeit at a lower level than other infants). Rhea's men were also watching Korrina and Jeralt like hawks, monitoring Korina's every activity for reasons they would never explain to Jeralt. Jeralt did not know what to think at all during this month. He was terrified about Korrina's health, he blamed Rhea for his lover's death, and he was fearful that the Knights of Seiros were watching Korrina for reasons other than medical progress and would one day separate the two. Once a fire broke out, Jeralt used this opportunity to take Korrina and run, faking their deaths in the process. Korrina closed her late father's diary after that entry, finally feeling like she knows the whole story. Rhea had likely been planning something for Korrina since before she was ever born. Even if Korrina enjoyed her time at Garreg Mach, she was glad that Rhea didn't get a chance to truly manipulate her growing up. As a 22-year-old, Korrina was now able to make a real choice as to whether to continue following Rhea as well as fight anyone who disagreed with her decision.

As Korrina began to search for the thing her father supposedly left for her, Alois dropped in. Korrina's immediate reaction was "Alois! I didn't know anyone was coming!" Alois then explained that he was there to clean out Jeralt's belongings, but quickly started mourning his old friend and mentor. This made Korrina realize that she probably wasn't alone as she said, "Alois…I can't imagine how important he must have been to you. I'm sorry." Alois then reaffirmed that Korrina was the most important thing in the world to Jeralt before vowing to protect her in his stead. Korrina said, "Thanks for the offer, but no one could ever replace him…" Alois understood, but he still wanted to be some sort of uncle figure to Korrina. This she was far more accepting of, and the response pleased Alois too. Alois then said, "Come on. I know you're not ready, but it would mean a lot to Jeralt if his only child came to his funeral."

Korrina and Alois arrived just in time for Jeralt's burial. Staying for the rest of the procedure was the hardest thing Korrina ever had to do in her life, but at least Uncle Alois was there for her to hold on to. With the only person she really knew and loved for 21 years dead, she needed someone-anyone-to keep her together through the day. After the funeral ended, Rhea approached Korrina. After the usual condolences, Rhea explained her side of the story. The reason Jeralt became a Knight of Seiros in the first place was because Rhea saved his life back when he was a mere soldier of Faerghus. Since then, Jeralt devoted his entire being to the religion of Seiros…for a while. After some time, Jeralt fell in love with a nun and produced a child with her. The birthing process was extremely problematic, and almost ended with the deaths of both Korrina and her mother. However, Korrina's mother begged Rhea to save her. Thus, Rhea took all the remaining life force from Korrina's mother and used it to reanimate her. Jeralt never accepted the decision and eventually left without warning. However, Rhea failed to mention why the Knights of Seiros were monitoring Korrina and Jeralt so intently in the following month or how Sothis became involved in all this (it was obvious by now that Sothis was an actual living entity within Korrina, after all). Even now, Rhea was hiding much from Korrina. Barely satisfied with Rhea's explanation, Korrina went back to her room to contemplate her next move. The only people left that she trusted were Uncle Alois and Albein the Gatekeeper.

In the following days, Korrina only ever visited the dining hall and her late father's personal quarters to look for that certain something. Because Korrina believed at that time that Edelgard conspired with Monica to kill Jeralt, Seteth took over Korrina's teaching duties until she could stand to see or hear Edelgard again. Once again, the only things in Korrina's head were questions. "Should I leave Garreg Mach? Was Edelgard behind all this after all? Why did it have to be Jeralt? Why can't Sothis get out of my head and let me grieve in peace!?" On the second day, Edelgard made the mistake of seeking out Korrina. Once Korrina heard Edelgard's voice, she turned around as if in the middle of combat and laid her accusations for the whole monastery to hear. She said "Why did you come here?" Edelgard tried to explain herself, but before she could say a word, Korrina continued by saying, "Don't play dumb with me, sister! I SAW you with Monica every day before she killed my father! Admit it! You two were plotting his death the whole time, weren't you!? What were you even hoping to achieve with all this anyway?!" Korrina would have kept going like this for another 10 minutes, but Edelgard put her foot down and said, "I had no part in Monica's actions! All that talk that was so suspicious to everyone? That was just me helping Monica with our homework and playing games with her! I didn't piece together why Monica was acting so strange until it was too late either! I will confess I had Monica infiltrate the chapel as a mole that day, but that's as far as it went. Had I known what Monica would try, I would have played the mole myself. Now get it together and stop letting your grief blind you to the truth!" This was enough to make Korrina calm down a little. She still didn't fully trust Edelgard anymore, but she could somehow tell that her sister was actually being forthright this time. Korrina silently decided to believe her sister and give the Black Eagles another chance. By the end of the week, Korrina had returned to her normal teaching duties.

At the next Garreg Mach Women's association, everyone had some sort of gift for Korrina. Bernadetta and Petra brought a wreath of flowers and plants to put at Jeralt's grave. Bernadetta had never been comfortable about fathers, but she had come to accept that not all fathers are horrible people. She even wished that she had a father like Jeralt. Mercedes and Annette brought tastier snacks than usual. They knew that it wouldn't bring Jeralt back, but the taste at least made for an appropriate distraction for a few seconds. Dorothea and Annette co wrote a song to heal Korrina's wounds. Their performance was one that left a lasting impression on Korrina. Edelgard gave yet another apology for her failure to notice something odd about Monica before it was too late and offered to take Korrina into town as a way of mending fences. Flayn gave Korrina a cookbook on how to prepare fish in ways that wouldn't leave her feeling like her heart was being stabbed in 8 directions. That way, she could fully enjoy fishing and not be left out on the eating phase anymore. Some may call the gift tonally inappropriate, but Korrina absolutely loved it. Leonie pledged to fight alongside Korrina when the time came to face Monica in battle. Ingrid did something similar, but she also added a personal story about how she lost her first real love in an effort to say she empathized with Korrina. Lysithea offered words of encouragement saying that Korrina was the absolute strongest woman (or man) she knew and that if anyone could get through this, it would be Korrina. Finally, Hilda set up Korrina on a romantic date with Albein the Gatekeeper since he made her so happy last month. These various expressions of solidarity and help moved Korrina greatly and thoroughly convinced her that coming to Garreg Mach was indeed the right choice. Korrina then said, "Thank you. All of you. I am so proud to have you as my friends and 'sisters'." Before leaving, the Garreg Mach Women's Association had a group hug and promised to always be there for one another. If only that wish could have come true.

Eventually, Korrina did find what Jeralt hid for her: his old wedding ring. It was Jeralt's way of saying that Korrina was a true adult now and able to make her own choices in life. A year ago, Korrina would have been frightened by the thought of being alone. After all, she only ever knew Jeralt before that faithful night. Now, however, Korrina was ready to accept this responsibility. Korrina had a real home now, and people she could emotionally rely on. There was no longer any thing to be scared of, so Korrina took the ring with an expression of understanding and said, "I won't let you down, dad". Sothis was honestly quite proud of what Korrina had become, and this made Korrina happy. It was one of the few times Sothis was really nice to anyone. With this memento of Jeralt in hand, Korrina let Alois finish his cleanup duty and left the past behind (at least for the time).

Unfortunately, this month was not all recovery for Korrina. After what had happened at the chapel the previous month, the Knights of Seiros were put on high alert. Every man and woman in service to Rhea was sent on hourly patrols in search of SOMETHING that could lead them to Solon and Monica. This, unfortunately, meant that there wasn't much room to address other crises happening elsewhere. It only took a week for such a situation to pop up. Derdriu, the capital city of Leicester, was being raided by pirates. With the Knights of Seiros all out searching for Solon and Monica, it fell to the Black Eagles and Shamir to pick up the slack. Despite the desperation of the situation, Korrina was actually looking forward to another battle. It would give her a chance to take out some of her frustration towards Monica since she hasn't been around. When the Black Eagles and Shamir arrived in Derdriu, the situation was made clear as day. They were to stop the pirates without letting a single one into town. Because of this, Korrina thought it a good idea to create blockades at each of the bridges, ports and entrances. Once the pirates proved quite weak in comparison to the Black Eagles, however, Korrina decided to stop waiting and go on the offensive. Shamir questioned if this was really a wise decision, but it paid off. Because all the pirate ships were close to the chokepoints Korrina set up, it was simply a matter of waiting for the numbers to thin up then board the ships. The pirates did have a few dracoknights in their ranks, but they were easily shot out of the sky by Shamir. Even with the more aggressive approach Korrina adopted, no pirate ever got the chance to enter Derdriu. When the battle ended, the villagers were grateful, but Shamir was annoyed at Korrina's recklessness. When Korrina approached her team, Shamir immediately greeted her with a "What were you thinking? Do you realize how much trouble the townspeople would have been in had the pirates been smart enough to slip into town while you were 'taking the fight to them'?" Korrina sort of understood Shamir's point but was largely unconcerned since the Black Eagles won anyway. Shamir then took a closer look and said, "You've changed, Korrina. Since Jeralt died, you've been more impulsive than usual. You got lucky this time, but if you don't ditch the habit, it's gonna get you in real trouble someday." Korrina gave a hollow acknowledgement and went back home with the Black Eagles, but she would eventually regret brushing off Shamir's warning.

Now that Korrina had somewhat recovered from losing her father, she sought out Raphael and Ignatz. When Korrina was more upset about losing Jeralt, Raphael suggested working out as that was how he eventually learned to cope with losing his own parents. Now Korrina was ready to heed that advice, and she thought a partner/coach would be good for the first month or so. Raphael was more than happy to oblige, and even started hanging out with Korrina more. This made Albein the Gatekeeper somewhat jealous, but Korrina was quick to say "Raphael may look big, but he's still a student. I'm not the type of professor who just hooks up with students all willy nilly." Korrina was able to keep up with Raphael's training regimen, but she had minor difficulty explaining to him that she would literally die if she ate as much as he. Although Raphael did eventually open up to Korrina about his trouble studying, they never went beyond a professional relationship. Korrina even tried doing a double date between her and Albein and Raphael and Leonie, but the adventure got awkward due to Leonie bringing up Jeralt all the time. As for Ignatz, Korrina had heard that "drawing it out" was a useful form of stress relief and wanted to test that theory. Ignatz heard that theory too and decided to teach Korrina how to draw. Korrina was not at all good at drawing (her hands were for swinging a sword, not a brush). However, Korrina was able to get out some very real drawings regarding her past of endless conflict. The chameleonlike beast that Miklan transformed into also made its way into Korrina's drawings. It seemed like the only positive thing that Korrina had to draw was the monastery itself. Her sessions with Ignatz were very intense, but at least she felt better and better after every session. During this time, Korrina also had some sparring sessions with Catherine, quality time with Dedue, and shopping trips with Ashe to keep her chin up.

Some time later, Korrina caught Manuela and Hanneman arguing. The sight of them fighting was never an uncommon one (Korrina even joked that they couldn't even compliment each other without finding something to fight about), but the subject this time caught Korrina's attention. A report of a death knight had been filed from the area west of the Sealed Forest. Manuela wanted to rush in and address the situation right away while Hanneman wanted to report it to Seteth and verify the reports first. Eventually, Manuela had enough of Hanneman's "lousy protocols" and stormed off. Where Manuela was going was quite obvious. She wanted to find this death knight and get revenge for that nasty scar on her back. Korrina then approached Hanneman and said, "We should follow her." Hanneman was usually not one for blindly rushing in, but this time, it couldn't be helped. He said, "I reluctantly agree. That report had yet to be verified, but if it were true, Manuela would be running towards certain death. Even if I cannot stand her, I still won't allow this." Thus, Korrina took the Black Eagles and Hanneman took the Blue Lions in pursuit of Manuela. By the time the Black Eagles and Blue Lions found Manuela, she had gotten herself surrounded by enemies. There was no Death Knight-just some bandits worshipping a death god and wearing skulls. The inaccuracy of the report annoyed everyone, but it was too late to turn back now. Manuela was a skilled sorceress, but she could only last so long. The Black Eagles and Blue Lions needed to reach Manuela before she got worn down. Ingrid and Petra were sent to retrieve Manuela while everyone else powered through the waves of bandits. Korrina, Caspar, Silvain, Bernadetta, Felix and Dimitri took the lead while everyone else followed close behind and provided some form of support. The bandits provided a reasonable challenge, but because they were fighting Felix and Dimitri, they didn't stand much of a chance. If any survived the initial attack, their reward was getting fried by magic from Hanneman or Edelgard. The bandits provided a reasonable challenge due to their weapon variety and knowledge of the terrain, but Hanneman's skill as a tactician helped the Black Eagles and Blue Lions circumvent these disadvantages and continue pushing forward. After about an hour of intense combat, Manuela was safely retrieved and united with Hanneman and Korrina. The mission was completed, but they all agreed that the bandits should be finished off anyway. Thus, they continued pushing forward until they found the bandit leader. He was decently armed, but Felix was able to beat him without breaking too much of a sweat. Although the rumors of the Death Knight were unfounded, the Black Eagles and Blue Lions were at least able to rid the world of a troublesome bandit gang and recover a ton of stolen goods. This wasn't enough to please Hanneman, though. He harshly scolded Manuela for her irrationality, saying that she could have been killed. Before the bunch disbanded, Hanneman made her and Korrina promise that they wouldn't run off so recklessly again. The 3 of them were the only professors at Garreg Mach, after all.

Unfortunately, it took only a few days for the cycle to begin again. This time, Solon had been found in the Sealed Forest itself and the report was far more accurate this time. Rhea was initially going to send the Knights of Seiros after him, but Hubert intercepted the order and made sure Korrina heard it first. Korrina correctly interpreted this as Hubert's way of giving her a chance at revenge and said, "Good job Hubert. We'll round up the Black Eagles and head out tomorrow." However, Rhea somehow managed to catch Hubert eavesdropping and followed him to Korrina with Seteth in tow. Seteth tried to reason with Korrina, saying that this was likely a trap, and chasing Solon down in a thirst for revenge will only end in disaster (just like what happened to Manuela a few days ago). Korrina understood Seteth's point, but she thought he was suggesting that they completely ignore the call. To this, she said, "So what should we do then? Ignore Solon and let him get away? We still don't know where Solon's hideout really is, so our only chance at catching him is another coincidental encounter like this one. Besides, even if it is a trap, we can still capture one of Solon's subordinates and persuade them to lead us to him". Rhea then clarified that the Knights of Seiros would be handling the investigation and implored Korrina not to get involved in case a thirst for revenge consumes her the way it almost did Manuela. Korrina responded by saying, "This is not about Jeralt. I don't even know if the woman who killed him is gonna be there. No. This is about making sure that the tragedy of Remire Village never repeats itself. You may have seen the reports, but as someone who was actually there that day, no amount of reports could ever perfectly capture the horror of that day. Besides, I won't be alone. The Black Eagles will accompany me, and they have proven themselves time and time again. Edelgard then stepped in and tried using logic to convince Rhea to allow this. She said that the Knights of Seiros are too far away to adequately handle the mission whereas the Black Eagles are already close to the Sealed Forest and they have experience and the Sword of the Creator on their side. This was enough to finally convince Rhea that this was the right decision and gave Korrina the go ahead for entering the Sealed Forest and gave her Shamir for good measure. The next morning, Korrina could be heard saying, "Our mission today is to enter the Sealed Forest and kill Solon once and for all. All of you saw the horror that he unleashed in Remire Village, and I hope that each of you carries that memory with you for this mission. No man, woman or child should ever have to suffer because of Solon's machinations again. Even if it is a trap, we can still capture one of Solon's followers and persuade them to expose his hideout. We won't have another chance again, so don't waste it. Black Eagles, move out!"

As the Black Eagles entered the Sealed Forest, Korrina stopped the Black Eagles and said, "If we go any further, we'll be playing into Solon's hand…Caspar. You take the lead. Make as much noise as you can to let the enemy know we've come for them." Caspar loudly accepted and ran ahead screaming his head off. Hubert did not understand the logic behind this decision and said, "Are you mad, professor? Caspar will get us all caught for sure." Korrina then responded by saying, "That's the point, Hubert. We don't know if Solon is alone or what kind of trap he has for us. By sending in a decoy first, we can spring Solon's trap with minimal risk and better assess what we're up against." Hubert began to think about how to best respond to this, but before he could come up with an answer, several monsters came out of the forest to murder Caspar. Finally understanding the trap that Solon laid, Korrina had the Black Eagles split up. Ferdinand, Bernadetta, Hubert, Dorothea, Flayn, Leonie and Linhardt would handle the monster to the left. Korrina, Edelgard, Petra, Ingrid, Shamir and Silvain would help Caspar take the one to the north. As they all began to engage their respective monsters, Monica's voice sounded and welcomed them to their deaths. Monica then reintroduced herself as Kronya, explaining that the schoolgirl front was nothing more than a disguise. After this, a horde of cavalry and dark mages arrived to support the monsters. Kronya expected the cavalry and dark mages to easily kill the Black Eagles, but in reality, they were just annoyances to distract from the monsters. Flayn and Shamir dealt with the humans somewhat easily while the monsters were finished off. Once the monsters were gone, the Black Eagles were able to fully concentrate on the dark mages and cavalry and clean up shop. Once Kronya realized her underlings were useless, she tried to escape. However, Ingrid and Petra were successfully able to cut off said escape and keep Kronya busy long enough for the rest to catch up. Korrina was a bit caught off guard by Kronya's true form and the spiked tentacle like appendages she insisted on wearing, but quickly steeled herself for the coming battle. Leonie charged in in an effort to avenge Jeralt, but Kronya easily sidestepped her charge and killed her horse with a single blow. Kronya moved in for the killing blow, taunting Leonie's foolishness every step of the way. Before Kronya could land a finger on Leonie, however, she felt the Sword of the Creator pierce her chest. Korrina then retracted the Sword of the Creator and asked Kronya how it feels to be stabbed in the back. Although this attack severely wounded Kronya, it somehow missed all the major arteries. This enraged Kronya into mercilessly stabbing at Korrina. However, Korrina easily dodged the barrage and disarmed Kronya. With no options left, Kronya began to run. Korrina gave chase and eventually cornered her at some strange altar. Korrina then said "It's over Kronya." And readied the Sword of the Creator. However, Solon arrived to knock Korrina out of the way. Rather than finish Korrina, however, Solon walked towards Kronya and grabbed her by the neck. Korrina ran to pick up the Sword of the Creator back up, but though she was successful, Solon couldn't be damaged in this state. Soon the altar was covered in darkness that made escape impossible. More darkness spread from Solon and began to restrain Korrina. In just a few minutes, Kronya stopped breathing and Solon used the life force he drained from her to unleash a devastating spell called Zahras. Korrina was helpless to fight back as the darkness swallowed her whole.

Korrina was shocked to learn that she was still alive after being hit with Zahras. However, it only took a second for Korrina to learn that Zahras was more of a banishing spell than anything else. The Sealed Forest was gone as well as the Black Eagles. All that remained to Korrina was a black expanse that stretched on as far as the eye could see. The only light source in this world was the aura radiating from the Sword of the Creator. Korrina called out to Edelgard, Shamir and the rest of the Black Eagles, but to no avail. Korrina was alone, with no food, water, or any medication for her heart. Korrina was positive that this was how it ended, but she didn't feel like dying alone. Thus, Korrina asked for Sothis to appear. Unfortunately, this turn of events had left Sothis far more cranky and mean spirited than usual. Sothis placed ALL the blame on Korrina for this mess and said that a boulder was smarter than Korrina. As Korrina listened to Sothis's accusations of stupidity, she began to realize why Nemesis wanted to get rid of her so badly. Unfortunately, Sothis was still reading Korrina's mind and said, "And don't bother trying to kill me. You've already done enough getting us into this dark and terrifying place." After a few more minutes of lashing out at Korrina, Sothis finally calmed down and so did Korrina. Korrina then said, "Looks like this is the end for us. You weren't ever the first person I wanted to be with when I died but beggars can't be choosers. At least the Black Eagles should have already killed Solon by now. That at least gives me peace in death. Not like I was ever alive in the first place." This enraged Sothis once more, as she was not ready to lose her only vessal. Only one option remained for Sothis. She would sacrifice her form and consciousness to give Korrina the full extent of her power. Korrina asked if this meant that she would never see Sothis again. Sothis responded affirmatively but admitted that she would miss her time as a voice in Korrina's head. Korrina was a lot happier about never having Sothis in her head again, but Sothis read this thought too. Thankfully, Sothis was willing to ignore Korrina's thoughts this one time and gave her one last thank you and goodbye. Korrina did the same, and the two merged forms. Korrina's hair turned green and her skin even whiter as a massive amount of power began to erupt within her. Once Korrina felt like she hit her peak, she took the Sword of the Creator and ripped open the Zahras dimension like a zipper.

The first thing Korrina saw upon leaving the Zahras dimension was Solon. This greatly disappointed Korrina as she said, "You're still alive!?" She then turned to the Black Eagles and said, "What were you doing this whole time? Having a tea party with him?" Edelgard then explained that Korrina was gone for a few seconds, causing her to wonder if time flowed differently in the Zahras dimension. However, Solon proclaimed that they would never catch him as he retreated deeper into the forest. Yet more men and monsters surrounded the Black Eagles in an effort to cut off their pursuit. Seeing their odds, Korrina thought this a perfect test of her newfound power. Korrina charged up for a second as the Black Eagles engaged the enemy, then let loose a mighty shriek and a pillar of raw energy that could be described as God Ki. Korrina's voice echoed throughout the forest as she said, "I am Korrina! Sothis was the beginning, but I am the end! Solon, your presence is no longer necessary in this world! Atone for your crimes against humanity and perish!" With this, Korrina then sped towards the monster on the right and killed it with 2 slices from a supercharged Sword of the Creator. The men aiding Solon began to shudder with fear and run. Korrina turned to the Black Eagles and said, "What are you waiting for? Get him!" Everyone charged Solon at once. Solon fired off a few spells to deter them, but nothing worked. Eventually, Solon was cornered against the trees and could only say some cryptic meaning about a fallen star before getting stabbed to death by Ferdinand. With Solon dead, the Sealed Forest was animated with cheers and battle cries. Korrina wasted no time in proclaiming Ferdinand the Hero of Remire for his deeds in this battle. However, Korrina soon fainted from the sheer amount of power she used in that battle. In that forest, a new era was born.


	12. Not Above Reality

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 12: Not Above Reality

Korrina remained unconscious for 3 whole days. She could still hear and feel, but she didn't have the strength to move, open her eyes, or even develop a complex thought. It was almost as if Korrina was asleep during this time period. During this time, Korrina would often hear the same song she heard Rhea singing a few months ago. The same voice this song came from would also speak to Korrina like a mother would to a child. This confused Korrina, but she wasn't able to form any questions. All she could do was lie there in a state of confusion and feel someone cradle her like an infant.

When Korrina finally woke up, she was back at her room in Garreg Mach. She felt horrible, but that is to be expected for someone who hasn't woken up in days. At first, Korrina thought that everything that happened in the Sealed Forest was a dream. The things that transpired that day certainly seemed odd enough to be a dream, after all. However, Sothis was oddly quiet throughout the whole process of waking up. Usually, Sothis would excitedly wake up Korrina in anticipation for the new day. This time, however, Korrina did not hear Sothis at all. Korrina admittedly had mixed feelings about this. On one hand, Korrina almost missed Sothis. On the other hand, Korrina was hoping this would mean that she could finally lead a somewhat normal social life. After a few minutes, Korrina looked at her mirror and noticed that her hair color had turned green and her eyes had turned a much paler shade. This proved it. Everything that happened in the Sealed Forest was real. Wondering how long she was out, Korrina staggered out her door to find Rhea suspiciously waiting for her to come out. Seteth was also there desperately trying to get Rhea's attention, but it was almost like he didn't exist. Korrina was relatively freaked out to see the Archbishop waiting for her like this, and her immediate response was to ask how long Rhea was waiting there. Rhea then said, "Just a few hours. Come with me. We have much to talk about." The 2 headed for Rhea's quarters with Seteth close behind, still trying to get some answers about the things he saw in Jeralt's diary. As they walked, Korrina told Rhea about a song she heard while she was unconscious. Rhea got flustered for the first time, giving away that it was indeed her that was looking after Korrina during this time.

When the 3 finally got to Rhea's chamber, she confirmed that Korrina had indeed become a goddess. Rhea came pretty close to saying "mother" whenever she addressed Korrina, but she often caught herself. These displays caused Korrina to begin to suspect Rhea's true nature. Rhea then gave her final assignment. Korrina was to go to the "Holy Tomb" and receive a revelation from Sothis. Korrina's first answer was, "Ok. Where is this Holy Tomb?" Seteth then elaborated by saying that the Holy Tomb was deep underneath the monastery. Apparently, the true reason behind Garreg Mach's construction was to obscure the tomb's location. Rhea then said that the reason behind this mission was an old legend. In it, Seiros received a revelation in that very location, as well as an instruction to protect and lead the common man. Rhea was hoping that a similar thing would happen to Korrina. Korrina was hoping to actively use her power to reshape the world, but she admitted that she could use a bit of guidance for what to do after she was finished. For this reason, Korrina was looking forward to this revelation. Korrina also said, "When this is finished, I would like to find the Flame Emperor." Rhea thought that Korrina meant that she wanted to kill the Flame Emperor, but Korrina was quick to correct her. She said, "The Flame Emperor said that he (?) wanted to reforge the world. I want to hear him (?) out, and see what his (?) ideas of a new world are. If his (?) ideas are just, I may incorporate them if not recruit him (?) entirely." Rhea and Seteth were both shocked and appalled that Korrina would even want to entertain the thought of cooperating with someone that had terrorized the land for months, but Korrina merely said, "I know what I'm doing, Rhea. Besides, the Flame Emperor did try to join forces with me back at Remire Village. He (?) can be negotiated with. If possible, I'd like to end this conflict without any further bloodshed." Rhea and Seteth still did not accept the idea of potentially working with the Flame Emperor, but they also knew that Korrina was not going to be dissuaded. They decided to let her go before this matter could escalate.

Although Korrina was a goddess now, she still had to finish her term as a professor. On her first day back as a professor, many of the Black Eagles were relieved to find that she would still be teaching them (even Hubert). Korrina's first words were, "I have no doubt that you have heard a lot of rumors, and I'm here to give you the truth about me. I have been elevated to goddess. However, I am also still your professor. I have every intention of remaining by your side for the rest of the year. Now, here is your final mission. Apparently, it is customary for new goddesses to receive a revelation from a tomb deep underneath the monastery. Rhea said that I may take a small group of warriors to accompany me. Because we have fought together for so long, I have chosen each and every one of you to accompany me. Shamir, Alois, and Rhea will also be going with us for this mission. I do not anticipate any danger, but nevertheless, prepare for anything. On a lighter note, I have also planned a celebration tonight for Ferdinand, the Hero of Remire. Thanks to your efforts last week, Solon is dead and no one will have to suffer from his cruel experiments again. You deserve a day to yourself." Not everyone agreed with the idea of giving Ferdinand that much credit, but they agreed that killing Solon merited some kind of reward. Ferdinand was proud of this accomplishment, but there was something that troubled him. Before Solon died, he said that Thales would finish the job somehow. Who was Thales? Was he the one that prevented Korrina from saving Jeralt that one day? Those questions would trouble him for several months.

During Ferdinand's celebration, Edelgard pulled Korrina aside and asked to accompany her to Enbarr (the capital of Adestria). Korrina initially wasn't sure what Edelgard wanted, but she promised she would explain later. On the next weekend, Korrina informed Seteth about what was happening and asked him to take over should she take longer than the weekend to return. After this, the two gathered their things and left for Enbarr. On the way, Edelgard said that they were going to meet her father, Ionius 9th. He had grown old and sick, so he sent for Edelgard to see her one last time before dying. Korrina was admittedly quite excited to meet Ionius 9th and see her ancestral homeland. The whole time, she wouldn't stop asking Edelgard what life in Enbarr was like. Unfortunately, Edelgard didn't have many answers since the only times she ever left her palace was when her uncle kidnapped her for those unspeakable experiments and to enroll in Garreg Mach. As such, most of Edelgard's answers to Korrina's questions were some variant of "ask Dorothea". When they finally arrived at Enbarr, Korrina was somewhat disappointed at what she found. Most of the population lived in destitution, and cleanliness was borderline nonexistent. Even the buildings looked old and ugly to Korrina. Surprisingly, Edelgard agreed. These complaints prompted her to go on a small tangent about how the nobility takes up all the food and money while leaving absolutely nothing for anyone else. As if that wasn't enough, the nobility also treated the poor like wild animals without any degree of compassion or self-reflection. However, Edelgard vowed that things will be different once she becomes Empress. Coincidentally, the two also arrived at Edelgard's home once she finished saying that. The prime minister (Ferdinand's dad) pretends to own it now, but it is still in possession of House Hresvelg. Once inside, the guards escorted the two to Ionius 9th. Korrina wanted to introduce herself so badly, but she knew this was not the right place for casual conversation. Thus, she initially let Edelgard do the talking. Both Edelgard and her father got straight to the point. Ionius 9th was already beginning to die, and he wanted to pass on the crown before it was too late. Korrina was brought along because her being the goddess meant that she now represented the Church of Seiros as witness. (Apparently this was the tradition for succession in the empire). Korrina was now able to introduce herself. She said to the dying Emperor, "I'm Korrina. Before I became the goddess, I was Edelgard's professor…" She wanted to reveal her familial ties to Edelgard, but she feared that she didn't have the time to prove her claim. Thus, Korrina merely told Ionius 9th that he raised a wonderful young woman. The actual coronation was pitiful to watch. Ionius 9th barely had the strength to stand, so Korrina and the guards had to do all the work of crowning Edelgard while Ionius 9th recited the words and tried to at least stay standing throughout the whole thing. As soon as the succession process was complete, Ionius 9th fell back onto his throne without any grace. Both Edelgard and Korrina called out to him, but he said it was all ok now. Him and Edelgard then talked about that time she was stolen away and experimented on. Korrina was able to figure out during this time that the prime minister also had a hand in these experiments and her hatred of him solidified. During this time, a bald and apathetic blob entered the room. This was Lord Aegir, the prime minister, mastermind behind the Insurrection of the Seven and one of the people that experimented on Edelgard. Edelgard wasted no time exercising her newfound power on him. Before Lord Aegir could figure out what was happening, Edelgard had him arrested for high treason and crimes against humanity. Lord Aegir tried to retake control of the situation and have Edelgard and Ionius 9th arrested instead, but the guards no longer listened to him. Whether this was because Lord Aegir was simply universally hated within Enbarr or if it was because Ionius 9th had been planning a counter coup for some time was something Korrina didn't care enough to ask. All she cared about was seeing Edelgard's dead siblings finally getting posthumous justice. Korrina wanted to stay and help Edelgard clean up Enbarr, but neither of them had the time. They both still had jobs to finish at Garreg Mach, so they could only stay the night. Before they left, however, Korrina made certain to check out the Hresvelg family tree. Sure enough, an ancestor of Edelgard had branched off to join the knighthood in Faerghus. This mysterious person was Jeralt's grandfather, making Korrina Edelgard's third cousin at least. In some fashion, the two could have been considered sisters. Satisfied with what had been accomplish, Korrina and Empress Edelgard returned to Garreg Mach to finish out the semester.

On the first day after Korrina and Edelgard returned from Enbarr, Korrina requested to speak with Ferdinand after class. Once they got that chance to speak, Korrina told him exactly what had happened at Enbarr. She said, "Your father has been arrested for treason and crimes against humanity. Edelgard is the new empress of Adestria, and unless she decides otherwise, you may be in line to inherit your father's house and titles early. If you want to keep your holdings, I would advise that you quit your habit of trying to compete with Edelgard before Hubert takes it the wrong way." Ferdinand was predictably shocked to hear all this. His first response was, "Treason!? After all the things my father did for the Empire!?" Korrina responded with, "And I suppose these things he did for the Empire include cutting open Edelgard and her siblings and forcibly imbuing them with crests?" Ferdinand didn't really have much of a response to this revelation. His body language gave the impression that he was both surprised and not surprised at the same time. Korrina decided to finish up and say, "I only came to tell you news. If you want to fight someone about this, talk to Edelgard." Korrina left as Ferdinand struggled to come to terms with what happened. The following day, Lord Aegir confessed to not just experimenting on Edelgard and her siblings, but also botching the procedures on purpose to rid the world of the Hresvelg bloodline once and for all. The only reason Edelgard survived was because her uncle caught onto what Lord Aegir was doing and finished the job himself. The confession made international news, and House Aegir's good name was dragged through several layers of mud. Ferdinand would never be the same again.

The weeks leading up to the holy tomb expedition were thankfully uneventful. This provided Korrina with some much-needed time to get used to her newfound powers. Her increased strength and agility allowed her to become a more consistent sparring partner with Catherine. She was surprised at how much Korrina grew in a short period of time but was mostly glad to finally have someone she could keep up with again. Korrina's ability to heal the sick made her an intensely valuable asset to the infirmary, and she used this time to develop a bond with Manuela (even if most of this quality time was spent helping Manuela with men and hangovers). Korrina also developed a habit of taking off her shoes and socks and then walking on top of the fishing pond. One evening when she was getting ready to do this, she found Petra gazing over the horizon. She asked what was up, to which Petra responded by saying she was looking towards her homeland of Brigid. Korrina quickly deduced that Petra misses her home, and Petra was equally quick to confirm this. Petra explained that she wanted to go home but couldn't. She was brought here as a hostage to keep Brigid from rebelling. Korrina thought for a moment, then said, "Edelgard might understand. If you talk to her, she may take you back there for a visit." Petra deeply appreciated the offer but wanted to stay for a while. Even if Petra was a hostage, she still felt the need to stay and solidify relations with Adestria before going back home like that. Korrina understood and went back to walking on the water for a time. Nothing noteworthy happened in the final Garreg Mach Women's Association meeting. Noone even knew at the time that this would be the last time they saw each other as friends. Edelgard and Hubert began to miss class more often, but at the time, Korrina chalked it up to them trying to adjust to Edelgard's new role as Empress of Adestria. Her newfound complacency allowed them to plot right under her nose.

On the day of the expedition, everyone congregated in the chapel but Edelgard and Hubert. Everyone thought this was strange but was overall more concerned about the task at hand. Hanneman and Manuela decided to tag along since revelations are such a rarity and they feared that the opportunity to witness such an event would only be once in a lifetime. Korrina was not a fan of all the spectacle that Rhea was making out of this, but she figured it must be tradition and let Rhea have her fun. Once Shamir and Alois came, the group was lead to the mausoleum then to an underground passage obscured by the coffin that held the Sword of the Creator. Because the walk was so long, Alois decided to entertain the group with his usual jokes. Korrina and Bernadetta found them hilarious, but the others just wanted him to stop. Frequently, Rhea would try to shift the subject back to the task at hand, but Alois would usually find some opportunity to make a joke out of it. Shamir admitted that Alois is always like this, but neither Korrina nor Bernadetta minded. Alois made them smile and that's all that mattered to them. Eventually, the group happened upon a large throne room with several graves scattered throughout. Korrina recognized the throne as the one that Sothis always sat on in her dreams, and Rhea was expecting this reaction. Rhea got unusually excited as she described the significance of this room, barely able to conceal that Sothis was her mother anymore. Although this explained how Rhea attained the position of Archbishop, it still creeped out most of the people present. Finally, Korrina was asked to sit on the throne.

Korrina sat on the throne in the same position that Sothis often took. It seemed like every two seconds, Rhea asked Korrina if she had gotten a revelation yet. Each time, Korrina would respond by asking Rhea to be patient and that revelations probably take time. Before any revelation could come, however, Edelgard and Hubert arrived with imperial soldiers and a beastly man named Metodey. It didn't take long for everyone to recognize that Edelgard was wearing the Flame Emperor's cloak. She was also wearing modified shoes that made her look significantly taller than she usually does. There was no longer any mistaking it. Edelgard was the Flame Emperor this whole time. Everyone was shocked at this turn of events, but it all finally made sense to Korrina. While she started recontextualizing all of her exchanges with Edelgard to see if there was anything she missed, Edelgard gave the order to open all the graves and take the crest stones inside. Metodey then felt the need to open his mouth and compile additional orders, telling the soldiers to take the bones too and kill everyone in the room (yes, even Korrina). Rhea became far more furious than ever before and gave a similar order to kill all the imperial troops (specifically including Edelgard). A fight quickly erupted between the two factions, and now Korrina was furious. This wasn't at all how the day was supposed to pan out and sounds of people dying in this supposedly sacred room put her over the edge. Korrina got up from her throne, unleashed a pillar of God Ki that seared a hole in the ceiling and yelled "STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to face Korrina. Her eyes were glowing, her hair had turned to a lighter shade of green and God Ki radiated from her like fire. Once Korrina saw that everyone had turned silent, she pointed at Edelgard and said, "You. Flame Emperor. What were you trying to accomplish defiling my tomb like pirates?" Edelgard tried to explain herself and said, "You already know by now that the crest stones are responsible for transforming everyone into monsters. My uncle, Lord Arundel, was using them to create monsters like the ones you saw in the chapel last year. However, that stops here. I plan to destroy each and every one of these crest stones before Lord Arundel has a chance to even touch them." Not everyone believed Edelgard's story (Rhea least of all), and Korrina was still angry at her for raiding this supposedly sacred place like a pirate. However, Korrina still wanted this to end peacefully deep down inside. Thus, Korrina deliberated in eerie silence before passing judgement. She finally said, "Very well. Gather the crest stones in this room before me and destroy them before my eyes. I want to see if you are telling the truth. You will not be allowed to do this like the barbarians you were conducting yourself as before, though." Korrina then pointed right at Metodey, and her God Ki flared once again as she shouted "And remove that animal from the premises! Each time he BREATHES, he disgraces the Adestrian Empire." Most of the people in the tomb believed that this was a reasonable demand, but Rhea was infuriated. She turned towards Korrina and said, "How dare you!? Do you even know what those crest stones are!?" Korrina sternly answered, "Yes. Those crest stones are parasites responsible for the evils of this world. In the new world I wish to create, such demons will no longer be necessary to maintaining order." Rhea stubbornly held firm and said, "No! Those are all I have left of my family! They must stay here!" Korrina offered her condolences but continued to hold firm herself and insisted that a world where such monsters are held as necessities could only be dystopian. Rhea used this statement to try to compare Korrina with Edelgard, saying, "Listen to yourself, Korrina! Do you not realize how much you sound like that traitor right now!?" Korrina coldly said, "Well, I hate to say it, but she is making more sense of the two of you right now." Rhea then tried to persuade Korrina back to her side, saying, "But don't you realize? This 'woman' is a threat to us all! Kill her!" Korrina said, "I will not. There is a better way to settle this, Rhea." These words, unfortunately, caused Rhea to turn her ire towards Korrina. Rhea suddenly lost all her intensity and proclaimed Korrina "another" failure. Korrina became intensely confused at Rhea's wording, but Rhea was not in the mood for explanation. She denounced everything about Korrina without a single thought of what she was really doing. After a few minutes of cursing Korrina, Rhea stated her intention to "reclaim" Korrina's heart before revealing her true form: a beautiful yet terrifying white dragon. Korrina screamed, "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" as Hubert transported Korrina out of the tomb. Everyone else flew into a panic as Rhea took out her anger on everyone who tried to make her see reason. Slowly, Edelgard and Hubert transported everyone out of the tomb and left Rhea behind. Any intention of peacefully reshaping the world was vaporized as Rhea made it clear that she would defend the old world with lethal force if necessary.


	13. The Battle For Garreg Mach

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 13: The Battle for Garreg Mach

Within the span of a few minutes, everyone was transported to a temporary encampment within Adestria. Edelgard tried to explain how Rhea's species had been controlling mankind under the disguise of humans for centuries, but Korrina didn't really catch any of it. Instead, she spent multiple hours trying to wrap her head around what just happened. To Korrina, the idea of an archbishop turning on her own goddess was incomprehensible. No matter how long Korrina pondered the answer to this question, no answer would manifest. Eventually, Korrina reached the conclusion that maybe she had been overthinking this situation the whole time. Maybe Rhea was just mentally unstable and not used to taking orders from someone else. Finally, Korrina went back to where her "sister" was explaining everything and said, "Lord Lonato was right. Rhea IS a false prophet, and a dangerous one at that. Someone as unstable as she has no right to lead an institution as large as Garreg Mach. We must dispose of her immediately." Most of the Black Eagles were taken aback by Korrina's sudden change in attitude. Edelgard wasn't at all expecting Korrina to embrace her path so wholeheartedly and almost tried to dissuade her. However, Korrina was dead set on removing Rhea now that she learned of the Archbishop's true nature. This didn't mean she was suddenly on good terms with Edelgard again, though. Korrina still despised the fact that her own "sister" would keep secrets from her and raid her birthright. However, circumstances had changed. Rhea was now the greater evil, and Korrina knew she would at least have to bury the hatchet for a few months. Besides, Korrina couldn't go back even if she wanted to. Rhea's anger was specifically directed towards Korrina, and Divine Pulse can only wind back the clock so far. In trying to prevent a war between the Adestrian Empire and the Church of Seiros, Korrina may have ended up starting one.

In the following days, everyone had to choose whether to stay with or leave Edelgard. Most of the Black Eagles stayed out of fear that they would no longer have a place at Garreg Mach. Even if some of them had a falling out with Edelgard over whether she should have been more open about her plans, they never truly believed that they could just go back to Garreg Mach. Alois decided to keep his promise and stay by Korrina's side no matter what. Shamir wasn't even that loyal to Rhea in the first place and decided that it was better to switch sides for the time being. Hanneman was originally an Adestrian noble before coming to Garreg Mach and always planned on siding with the Empire should a rift form between the two. Manuela was also from Adestria and felt a strong degree of loyalty to her former homeland. Silvain genuinely believed in what Edelgard was selling them even if he was scared of invoking his former king Dimitri's wrath. The only noteworthy person that rejoined the Church of Seiros was Flayn. Even if she acknowledged that Rhea may not be the most fit to rule the Church of Seiros, she still couldn't bring herself to face her father Seteth on the battlefield. Thankfully, everyone understood Flayn's logic and let her go (even Hubert). Edelgard expected people to leave the Church of Seiros for her, but Korrina didn't feel this would be the case. When asked why, Korrina said, "We know what Rhea really is, but no one else does. Outside of the people in this room, no one saw Rhea's breakdown. Don't forget that she is still in charge of Garreg Mach, too. It is highly likely that the rest of the students and staff will take her word over ours."

Although Korrina's prediction of everyone at Garreg Mach siding with Rhea came true, there was one exception. Albein the Gatekeeper sought them out in the end of the first week of preparations, not able to believe any of the things that Rhea was saying about Korrina. Korrina and Edelgard slowly explained everything that happened in the holy tomb that faithful day and proclaimed their intention to remove Rhea from power. Although Albein didn't like the idea of opposing his former boss, he still decided that Korrina had her reasons and that he should trust her.

In the next few weeks, very surprising people would answer Edelgard's call to arms against Garreg Mach. Predictably, most of the Adestrian Empire sided with Edelgard. Despite taking part in the Insurrection of the Seven, both Caspar's father and Linhardt's father were among the first to answer the call to arms. Whether this was a heat of the moment decision made out of fear of sharing Lord Aegir's fate or if the two changed their minds about Lord Aegir years ago was something nobody cared to ask. Lord Varley tried to lead a revolt against Edelgard both out of sexism and out of an effort to preserve the new order brought on by the Insurrection of the Seven, but this movement was quickly stomped out by Hubert. Once Bernadetta learned that her father was imprisoned for rebelling, she finally decided to tell Edelgard about what kind of person Lord Varley was and her mother confirmed everything at the trial. As punishment, Lord Varley was stripped of his lands and titles and arrested for domestic abuse. Most of Garreg Mach stayed loyal to Rhea, but smaller branches (such as the Western Church) broke off and prematurely proclaimed Korrina as the new archbishop. Before long, the Church of Seiros had officially split between those who believed Rhea's side of the story and those who believed Korrina's side of the story. There were also a few less than favorable groups who joined Korrina's side. For starters, the Death Knight and his men decided to let the past stay in the past and join the Adestrian Empire in search of a good fight. Korrina was vocally opposed to letting child traffickers join her cause, but Edelgard needed all the men she could get if she were serious about going against the Church of Seiros. Even more problematic was the return of Lord Arundel, the man who led the experiments on Edelgard's family. Even Edelgard wanted nothing to do with him, but Hubert believed that Arundel's…talents…would prove useful in the war yet to come. Neither Korrina nor Edelgard were convinced, but Hubert made enough good points to warrant giving him a chance. Unfortunately, not everyone saw it that way. Leonie originally sought out Korrina thinking that this is what Jeralt might have done, but once she learned that she would have to work with the men responsible for his death, she went right back to Garreg Mach and told Rhea everything. Korrina and Edelgard viewed this act as proof that the Death Knight and Lord Arundel were just going to be toxic influences, but those two were able to convince enough people of their worth to stay in high ranking positions for the time. Like it or not, Korrina would have to rely on people she abhorred in order to depose of Rhea.

The final war meeting before the big attack on Garreg Mach was extraordinarily tenacious. Garreg Mach was one of the most well-guarded places of that time period, and any former strategy they might have had for getting in was already leaked by Leonie. The only true advantages that Korrina had were the fact that she memorized the layout of the monastery like her hand during her time as a professor, the fact that she had truly crafty individuals like Hubert and Arundel who would use every method and manner of trickery to achieve their goals, and the fact that the Death Knight still knew the precise locations of every entrance and exit to his former lair (which in turn provided them with a back door into the monastery). Eventually, everyone agreed on a divide and conquer strategy. Korrina would personally lead the center flank and keep the main forces busy. Edelgard would lead the left flank and enter through the space in between the dorms. The Death Knight would lead the right flank and distract Rhea's finest warriors using any means necessary. Finally, Arundel would use the commotion to sneak into the Death Knight's former lair and use it to shuttle men into the monastery while the Knights of Seiros were all busy engaging everyone else. It wasn't a foolproof plan by any means, but it had the highest chance of success of any of the other ideas proposed (plus it didn't involve poisoning everyone at the monastery and potentially jeopardizing relations with Faerghus and Leicester any more than necessary).

Despite being fully prepared for war, Korrina still held out hope that she could somehow pull off a diplomatic solution. She was able to convince the others to let her negotiate before the invasion truly began under the logic that her words could at least convince some of the knights, faculty and students to perform some last-minute betrayals. Thus, on the day of the invasion, Korrina insisted on going first and announcing her presence. After gathering some energy, Korrina let loose another column of God Ki to let everyone know what they were up against. Her voice echoing throughout every corner of the monastery, Korrina proclaimed, "Archbishop Rhea, I have come for you! When I first achieved this power, I hoped that me, you and potentially the Flame Emperor could usher in a new age of progress. However, the events of the previous month have made it abundantly clear that you only ever intended to control me! Even back when I was born, you were finding ways to put me in your debt and ensure that you never lost control of your own religion! Your lack of emotional stability, explosive temper, controlling nature and excessive use of death sentences present a far bigger threat to this continent than any Flame Emperor ever could! Thus, with the entirety of the Adestrian Empire as my witness, I hereby proclaim you unfit to rule Garreg Mach and the Church of Seiros and demand you resign as archbishop effective immediately! If you cooperate and surrender yourself within the next 30 minutes, the lives of you and your knights will all be spared. You will be moved to Brigid, placed under house arrest and barred from holding any position of power again, but at least you will be guaranteed to be alive. If you refuse to surrender, I will send in the entirety of the Adestrian army to remove you by lethal force if necessary. The choice is yours, Rhea." Rhea was very quick to respond, but her message was anything but peaceful. Instead of cooperating, Rhea turned to everyone in the monastery and announced, "Do not listen to the words of this heretic! Her and the Flame Emperor have conspired to overthrow me for months! Just last month, she gave the Flame Emperor permission to steal this monastery's finest treasures. Korrina is nothing but a wicked thief, liar, apostate and traitor! Kill her and everyone of her fellow heretics! Their souls are beyond the point of salvation!" With these words, the Knights of Seiros stormed out of every available entrance to the monastery and the invasion began in full.

In the span of minutes, the monastery that Korrina spent the best year of her life in was transformed into a bloodbath. The Knights of Seiros were unlike anything that Korrina had faced before, but knowing they were facing the goddess herself caused their hearts to falter and their resolve to crumble. This in turn made the Knights easy pickings for the Adestrian Army. As predicted, Korrina lead the charge with Silvain, Bernadetta, Linhardt and Shamir backing her up. Caspar, Dorothea, Ferdinand and Hanneman accompanied Edelgard in the left flank. Hubert, Manuela, and Alois went in the Death Knight's former hideout with Arundel. Petra flew above the battlefield, assisting any flank that needed help. The first force to meet the Adestrian Army was a troop of Pegasus knights, but those fell easily thanks to Shamir. The center flank managed to get in without a hitch, but Gilbert's forces were successful in bottlenecking the left flank and halting their advance. This in turn caused Korrina to shift priorities and head for the dorms in hopes of saving Edelgard and the rest. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world, but the dark mages that Arundel put on Korrina's squad were able to thin Gilbert's ranks to a more reasonable level. Eventually, Gilbert had no choice but to turn his back to Edelgard and engage Korrina's squad before he shared his men's fate. The dark mages readied their spells for what would have otherwise been an execution, but Korrina insisted on fighting Gilbert one on one. Even if they were enemies now, Korrina still respected Gilbert enough to give him a more dignified end than what those dark mages would have done to him. Before they drew, Korrina said, "Sorry Gilbert. I'm sure you are a good man, but if you stand in our way, you will be cut down. No mercy." Gilbert simply responded by saying, "Same to you, Korrina. Those who threaten Garreg Mach will be punished, regardless of who they are." With this, their dual began. Gilbert's strikes were powerful, and he was able to block some of Korrina's attacks. However, against the Sword of the Creator, all Gilbert could have done was stalled for time. The moment Korrina found a gap in Gilbert's defenses, a single swipe was all it took. The Sword of the Creator was powerful enough to split Gilbert's armor wide open and stagger him, and from there, Korrina wasted no time in performing a follow up attack in the exact region she split Gilbert's armor. Gilbert was down, and with a rather nasty open wound on his abdomen too. This was the opening that Edelgard needed, as she immediately took her forces around Gilbert's body and met up with Korrina's forces for a joint attack. Before anything else could happen, however, a massive explosion occurred on the eastern wall. This whole time, the Death Knight was trying to make his own entrance into Garreg Mach, and now he succeeded. All the remaining Knights of Seiros turned their attention towards the Death Knight and his squad, giving everyone else the perfect opportunity to enter the monastery properly. It didn't take long for the Death Knight to catch up. While his men set fire to just about everything, the Death Knight easily cut through the remaining knights, Seteth and even Flayn before forcing his way in through the front door. Meanwhile, Arundel's squad had managed to successfully infiltrate the back of the monastery through the Death Knight's former lair. Garreg Mach was as good as captured.

Despite the battle being as good as lost, Rhea was not at all ready to give up. She teleported all the knights to the top floor to rest, then sent forth her finest warriors. It earnestly sickened Korrina to hear Rhea pretend to care about Seteth, Flayn and Gilbert. A few months ago, Korrina might have believed Rhea. Now she knew the truth: Rhea only loves people so long as she perceives them as being loyal to her. If any of them defied her like Korrina did, she would have tried to kill them as well. There was little time for Korrina to reflect on this, though. Out of nowhere, giant golems appeared and started to attack the Adestrian Army. The only reasonable explanation for their existence was if Rhea had created them somehow. The golems began to manifest spears of light and sweep the Adestrian army like dust. Thankfully, the golems were on the slow side. Once everyone figured out how the golems move and attack, their role was reduced to that of a mere time waster as the Adestrian Empire began to surround the golems and attack on all sides. Unfortunately, the golems took so long to destroy that Catherine was able to easily launch a sneak attack on the Adestrian Army. The Death Knight was the first to challenge her, but despite being on a horse, it didn't take long for him to fall. Even if Thunderbrand and the Scythe of Sariel were somewhat equal in power, the gap in power between the Death Knight and Catherine was nothing short of terrifying. After the first weapon clash, Catherine immediately used her remaining energy to carve up the Death Knight's horse, forcing him to dismount. From there, Catherine quickly overwhelmed the Death Knight with her relentless attack pattern, knocked the Scythe of Sariel out of the Death Knight's hands, then sliced him in half before he had a chance to react. Most of the Adestrian army was shocked to see one of their strongest warriors fall so easily, but Korrina used this chance to sneak attack Catherine before she could decide her next move. Luckily for everyone, Catherine took the bait and directed all her attention on Korrina while the rest of the army started tracking down Rhea. Unlike previous fights, Korrina knew better than to try and grab Thunderbrand with the Sword of the Creator. If she did, Catherine simply would have used Thunderbrand to electrify the Sword of the Creator and given her an even bigger shock than the Death Knight did. Instead, Korrina fought strategically, using the Sword of the Creator to instead keep Catherine at a distance and wear down her stamina before going in for any decisive blows. After about 4 flurries, Catherine finally began to tire out from all the energy she was exerting. This was Korrina's chance to strike. She retracted the Sword of the Creator, closed the distance, defended Catherine's final attack from a more dangerous range and finally pierced Catherine's chest by way of turning the Sword of the Creator back into a whip at just the right time. Korrina could have used this time to bring back the Death Knight with Divine Pulse, but she didn't bother for two reasons. First, bringing back the Death Knight through Divine Pulse would also result in Catherine being fully healed and ready to fight again. Second, Korrina felt that the Death Knight's reputation would have been a liability in the long term. Thus, Korrina coldly left the Death Knight to his fate and joined the rest of the Adestrian Army in fighting Cyril. Everyone was surprised to see that the young lad could ride a dragon let alone do as well in battle as he was, but it didn't matter. Once Shamir stepped into the fray, Cyril was shocked to see his mentor fighting with the enemy. Shamir then took advantage of Cyril's moment of weakness to floor him with a single arrow, allowing the army to advance. At long last, it was time to dethrone Rhea. Rhea was adorned with the Sword and Shield of Seiros, the most valuable weapons the monastery had behind the sword of the creator. Rhea did a shockingly good job at holding off everyone, but the moment she locked eyes with Korrina, her attention suddenly shifted. Rhea's assault on Korrina was even more ferocious than Catherine's. Rhea wasn't as strong as Catherine, but her sheer anger and hatred towards Korrina was enough to compensate. On top of that, it was almost as if she had faced the Sword of the Creator before. No matter what Korrina did, Rhea seemed to have an answer for it. Eventually, Korrina's heart began to faulter and the rest of the Adestrian Army had to step in. While Rhea fought everyone, Shamir stayed in the back, looking for a good shot. Eventually, Shamir was able to get in that one in a million shot and take out her former employer. Unfortunately, Rhea somehow managed to heal herself and continue fighting. At this point, the tide was beginning to turn in Rhea's favor. Korrina was out of commission, the Adestrian Empire was beginning to tire out, and both the Blue Lions and the Golden Deer were fully rested and prepared to enter the battle. If Rhea so chose, she could have easily deployed them to clean up the rest of the Adestrian Army and won the war before it even started. Instead, Rhea went for the overkill and assumed her true form once again. In this dragon form, Rhea easily took out Shamir and made a beeline for Korrina. Rhea then destroyed the terrace Korrina was on with her light breath, causing the goddess to presumably fall to her death. Before Rhea could do anything else, however, the entire monastery collapsed beneath her weight and she was buried in rubble. From there, the entire continent found itself in the midst of a war with no clue who won that initial battle and no clue if Korrina had survived at all.

Note: Sorry it took forever to do this chapter. School caught up and I had to choose priorities.


	14. Return of the Flame Empress

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 14: Return of the Flame Empress

5 years had passed since the battle of Garreg Mach. What should have been a single battle evolved into a continental war with no signs of even slowing down. That whole time, Korrina was nowhere to be seen. Some assumed she was dead while others never gave up and continued searching for her no matter how much time had passed.

When Korrina finally came to, she was in a village and house she didn't recognize. Someone found her body and placed it on their bed, but who? It didn't take long for that question to be answered, as a relatively unassuming man came to check on her. Upon realizing she had awoken at last, the man was quite estatic. He also seemed to know Korrina's name, which both confused and concerned her. The man realized what was going on and became somewhat disappointed. He said, "You don't remember who I am? It's me. Alm. The old gatekeeper." Upon hearing this name, it all came flooding back to Korrina: their numerous chats before missions, their mutual admiration of Catherine, the promise they made at the Goddess Tower, and especially the fact that he chose her over Rhea. Upon realizing this, Korrina leapt out of bed and embraced the former gatekeeper for what felt like hours. She never forgot who he was; she merely wasn't used to seeing Albein without his armor on. When the two finally let go, Albein turned towards the door and said, "There's someone else who would be happy to see you" before beckoning Korrina to follow him. The two then went outside, where Alois was watching over the town. He had lost a ton of weight since the last time Korrina saw him, but she could recognize his face anywhere. Although the former general's first reaction to Korrina being ok was to make a few jokes about how long she was out, Korrina knew that Alois was also relieved to see she was ok. Korrina then asked how long she was unconscious, to which Alois replied by saying 5 years. Alois then followed up on that with a few more jokes about how he was going to wake up Korrina, but she didn't mind. After all, making jokes was just something Alois naturally did when he was happy about something. Apparently, him and Albein both quit their jobs to search for Korrina. When they finally found her by the riverbed, they took her into the nearest town and brought out a house to keep her safe in until she woke up. Albein would preserve the body while Alois would protect the town from bandits and anyone who wanted to finish the job. Neither of them ever reported the discovery, as they didn't want word of this reaching Edelgard or Rhea until Korrina was awake and able to defend herself again. After Korrina thanked them, her next thoughts turned to Garreg Mach. Korrina asked if anyone still lived there. Albein responded by saying that Edelgard slightly rebuilt the monastery and made it into her military base. After a bit of thinking, Korrina said, "Take me back there. My sister needs to know I'm alive." Neither Albein nor Alois were ok with sending Korrina back in the fray so soon after she woke up from a 5-year coma, but they agreed that it would give the Empress some peace for the first time in 5 years and decided to accompany her. With this, Korrina let out a column of God Ki to symbolize her grand return and departed for her former home.

When the 3 arrived at the monastery, it was almost as if everyone was waiting for Korrina to return home. Not only did the soldiers let them in without even asking who they were, but nearly everyone stood in awe at the fact that Korrina was still alive. Korrina asked a random soldier where Edelgard was, to which he replied "She's usually on the top floor with Hubert. Almost no one sees her anymore. It's almost like she's…waiting for somebody." Instinctively, Korrina climbed as high as she could, as if she still knew every corner of the monastery despite all the time that passed. Thankfully, the soldier was correct. Edelgard was looking out the balcony at the top floor. She hadn't grown an inch, but she certainly looked older. Edelgard now wore heavy armor at all times and wore her hair up like true medieval royalty. The difference between Edelgard 5 years ago and Edelgard as Korrina saw her now was quite striking. When Edelgard laid eyes on her sister for the first time in 5 years, she didn't want to believe what was in front of her. None of the search parties she sent out came back positive. Not one trace of Korrina was found in those 5 years. Surely, she had to be dead. Yet here Korrina stood, as if nothing had changed at all. When Edelgard finally accepted the truth, Korrina embraced her and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting, sister. It's hard to do anything when you're unconscious." Edelgard still had a few questions about what happened, to which Korrina simply explained that Alois and the old gatekeeper found her and kept her body a secret to protect her from Rhea. Edelgard was hypocritically annoyed that Alois kept this from her the whole time, but she would have to deal with him later. For now, it was time to fill in Korrina about what all had happened in the 5 years she was gone.

As the two sisters headed towards the council chamber, Korrina was disappointed to learn that Arundel was still alive and in a position of power, and from there it was clear who was really running the show in these 5 years. Despite the moral outrage behind Arundel's methods, Hubert still thought him enough of an asset to outnumber Edelgard 2 to 1 when it came to making decisions. If there was one thing Arundel was good at, though, it was keeping everyone on topic despite everyone taking shots at him at every opportunity. Once tensions temporarily simmered, Edelgard let Korrina in on the details. After Rhea was buried in the rubble of her own chapel, it was the Blue Lions who came to her rescue. Dimitri in particular blamed Edelgard for the whole mess and declared war on her to her face. Edelgard still recalled with startling clarity the way Dimitri lashed out at her upon seeing her. Since that time, Dimitri became the new King of Faerghus and given Rhea and the remaining church staff refuge in his capital city of Fhirdiad. Since then, Faerghus and the Church of Seiros have made a powerful alliance and the Knights of Seiros are more numerous now than ever before. Meanwhile to the east, Claude has succeeded his grandfather as the new leader of the Leicester alliance and has maintained a very strict policy of neutrality throughout the last 5 years. Both sides are currently deadlocked, and with the Leicester Alliance refusing to pick a side, it is unlikely that said deadlock will break anytime soon. Even more disheartening was the hit the Adestrian Empire's reputation had took over the years. The poor character of Edelgard's allies combined with the fact that she and Korrina started the war made it all too easy for Dimitri and Rhea to paint the Adestrian Empire as the villains and Korrina a false prophet who failed 5 years ago. However, everyone at the council believed that Korrina may be the key to breaking the stalemate and pulling out a victory. After all, Korrina had the powers of a goddess and her very presence did wonders for morale. Korrina, meanwhile, was determined to prove once and for all that she was no fraud and restore the Adestrian Empire's reputation. One could only imagine Korrina's surprise when Hubert told her that their first move would not be to go after Rhea, but to invade the Leicester Alliance instead. Korrina naturally responded by saying "What!? But Leicester is neutral!" This prompted Hubert to elaborate in the situation in Leicester. As it turned out, the alliance was not as united in its neutrality as it seemed. Houses Gloucester and Ordelia had vocally expressed their support for Edelgard as well as their desire to join forces with her, but houses Riegan and Goneril (Hilda's house) actively prevented any vote on the matter from taking place. Hubert's logic was that removing Claude from power would give houses Gloucester and Ordelia the freedom they need to side with the empire without repercussion. Unfortunately, Korrina was not convinced. She believed that an unprovoked invasion of a neutral territory would only lessen the chances of anyone from that region allying with them. Hearing this, Edelgard stepped in and brought Claude's character into this. She reminded Korrina of how untrustworthy and intelligent Claude was back during this time as students before accusing him of waiting out the war and siding with the winning team in the last minute for the sake of gaining favor with the victors. Edelgard and Hubert then took it a step further and lied about Claude secretly supplying the Church of Seiros with men and weapons behind the scenes. At this point, Korrina realized that she wasn't going to dissuade anyone and reluctantly agreed to lead the charge. Just before the meeting was adjourned, however, Edelgard had one more favor she wanted to ask of Korrina.

The two sisters made their way to the grand hall, where everyone present in the monastery had gathered. After a moment of waiting for the noise to stop, Edelgard spoke. She said, "Proud men and women of the Adestrian Empire, I have come here today to confirm the rumors. The goddess, Korrina, has indeed survived, and has come home to us at last. Come forth, sister.". Korrina then presented herself before the crowd, inspiring quite a few words and cheers. Edelgard continued by saying, "I don't need to remind you of the disgusting rumors that the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus has spread about us, but my sister's continued survival proves them wrong. We are the true successors to the Church of Seiros, and we will not rest until Rhea, Dimitri, and their campaign of lies and slander have been brought to a halt. Finally, I have an announcement to make. I hereby elevate Korrina to the title of co-empress. From this day forward, my sister and I will share titles, responsibilities and burdens. Together, our bond shall help the Adestrian Empire soar towards a bright new future." The move was unanimously popular among Edelgard's soldiers, who were beginning to feel that she had lost her way after Korrina disappeared. Korrina, meanwhile, was beyond honored that her sister would do this for her. This was, beyond a doubt, the best thing that ever happened to her.

As it turned out, most of Korrina's former students managed to survive the war up to this point and were now a key division in the Adestrian Army called the Black Eagle Strike Force. Most of them were out in the field at the time of Korrina's coronation, so the next move was to wait for them to return. While this was happening, Hubert pulled aside Korrina to privately discuss some matters with him. Hubert started by going into detail about Lord Arundel's character and the role he played in the Insurrection of the Seven. Korrina did not understand what Hubert was trying to say and responded with a deadpan "Your point is…". This response annoyed Hubert, but it also convinced him to get to the point. He said that Korrina reminded him a lot of Arundel. Korrina, naturally, took offense to being compared to the man that experimented on her sister and responded with an angrily defensive, "Don't you dare compare me to that beast!" Hubert maintained control and elaborated by saying that he always sensed a second half to Korrina, much different from her public personality and even conflicting with it sometimes. When asked if that description sounded familiar to Korrina, she replied by saying "If you're talking about the 22 years I had Sothis inside my head, yes. I hated her with every fiber of my being…but she's gone now. Converted herself into all this power that I use." Unfortunately, Hubert found this answer unsatisfactory. He then gave Korrina a parting threat about proving her usefulness quickly, but before he could leave, Korrina interrupted by pointing out that he would technically be killing a co-empress if he made good on those threats. Hubert only replied by dismissing the move as a sentimental mistake before disappearing. Hubert supposedly cleaned himself up while Korrina was gone, but as far as Korrina was concerned, the shorter hair and more formal clothes ironically made Hubert even more terrifying. Thankfully, the Black Eagle Strike Force returned shortly afterward.

Because none of the Black Eagle Strike Force had caught word of Korrina's return let alone the fact that she was now co-empress of Adestria, they were all overjoyed to see her again after so long. Dorothea was the first to welcome back Korrina, embracing her quite warmly. Caspar joined in too, but because he had gained so much muscle mass in the last 5 years, he ended up hurting the both of them. It took a friendly reminder from Lindhardt for Caspar to finally let go of the two and let them recover. While Lindhardt healed Korrina and Dorothea, Ferdinand told Korrina with his usual tone that he for one never lost faith that Korrina would one day return to them. Korrina initially did not recognize Ferdinand because he gained a few pounds and grew his hair out, but once she heard his voice, she knew it was him. Petra then chimed in and eagerly told Korrina about how much they grew throughout the last 5 years, and Korrina believed her. Petra had blossomed into an Amazonian queen in the time that Korrina was away and certainly carried herself with far more dignity than ever before. Now that Korrina had the time to really look at her former classmates, a lot of them had undergone some major changes in the time Korrina had been missing. Caspar bulked up like he always said he would and became one of the highest-ranking generals of the Adestrian Army. Lindhardt was still as narcoleptic and uncaring of other people's opinions as ever, but at least looked the part of a noble now anyway. Bernadetta in particular cleaned up herself and seemed to exude a lot more confidence now (as much confidence as someone as broken as her could have anyway). Silvain, however, was still the nihilistic womanizer that he always was. After a few minutes, Edelgard and Hubert showed up to fill in the Black Eagle Strike Force on what was happening. A lot of them were shocked that Korrina was now the co-empress of Adestria, and Ferdinand and Lindhardt agreed with Hubert that the move was probably made too hastily. However, the rest of the Black Eagle Strike Force was largely supportive of Edelgard's decision and believed that Korrina's past leadership experience made her a perfect fit to rule an empire. However, Hubert quickly changed the subject and gave the Black Eagle Strike Force their next mission. He said, "There has been a change in plans. Since our battle with the Kingdom of Faerghus has gone nowhere, we have decided to invade the Leicester Alliance instead. Our first target is the Great Bridge of Myrddin, guarded by Judith Von Daphnel. The road that goes across it is by far the shortest route leading from here to Derdriu. If we can secure this defensive position, the rest of the alliance will be deprived of its closest reasonable position for a counteroffensive, and from there, the remainder of the alliance territory should fall in less than a month. We move out at the end of the month, so prepare however you can. That is all." None of the Black Eagle Strike Force truly liked the idea of invading a neutral territory, but they agreed that they would have more success there.

As preparations went fully underway, Korrina couldn't help but look around the monastery to see how much had changed. Predictably, the skirmish 5 years ago had done massive damage to the monastery, and reconstruction had been quite slow what with the war going on. Korrina figured it would be like this, yet even she was shocked at the ruined state of the monastery. The chapel where they fought Rhea in particular now lied in complete ruin. Maybe it was because Korrina spent so long at Garreg Mach but seeing it in this state made her instinctively want to repair it all. It took a few hours of negotiating, but Korrina was eventually able to convince her sister and co-empress Edelgard to assemble a team to help put the monastery back together again. During this preparation stage, Korrina also wanted to check out the Holy Tomb and see if the place had sustained any damage during that fight. Once Korrina had a few hours of spare time, she took Uncle Alois and headed back down there. Thankfully, the Holy Tomb was so far underground that the fighting 5 years ago had not touched it at all. This sight greatly relieved Korrina, as despite what happened in there 5 years ago, Korrina did still hold a degree of value for the place. Instinctively, Korrina sat back on the throne she was supposed to get a revelation or not. It wasn't as big of a deal to Korrina as it was to Rhea, but she was still curious as to whether the whole revelation thing was true at all. It took a few minutes for Korrina to feel anything. But thankfully, Rhea was not there to constantly press Korrina for info this time. Eventually, it hit Korrina all at once. She saw the past, present and future at the same time. She saw the beginning and end of the universe all at once. She saw the building blocks of life assemble and divide. She saw the world flood and then go back to normal like nothing happened. She saw man turn to beast and beast turn to man. She saw 12 men band together to defeat a great evil only for their descendants to fight amongst themselves and unintentionally revive said evil. She saw a pitiful man attempt to emulate her powers only to be consumed from the inside by demons. Finally, she saw dragons similar to Rhea lose their minds and be overthrown by man. "This must have been the revelation that Rhea was talking about", mused Korrina as she gradually returned to her throne room. In the span of a few moments, Korrina had achieved omnipresence and realized her role in life: to help mankind in their mission to seize their destiny from the dragons who controlled it for so long, then do everything possible to prevent mankind from fighting amongst themselves.

As the day to attack the Bridge of Myrddin approached, Hubert approached Korrina in hopes of speaking with her once more. Korrina immediately responded with, "Here to threaten me again, Hubert?" Thankfully, this was not the case. Hubert merely wanted to warn Korrina about Lord Arundel. It was true that Hubert was allied with him, but that is only because they share a common enemy. In reality, Lord Arundel operated with his own interests in mind rather than those of the Adestrian Empire. Hubert kept a very close eye on Lord Arundel and his followers, but he still hasn't decided whether they would continue to be of use after the war is over. Hubert wanted to ensure that Korrina could also hold off on the criticism of Arundel until after the Church of Seiros has been dealt with, as his magic, devious nature, and monster army were still vital assets to the Adestrian Empire. Korrina gave a halfhearted ok, but both of them knew that Korrina would never accept Lord Arundel as an ally.

As it turned out, the supposed Great "Bridge" of Myrddin was actually a complex network of smaller bridges connected by buildings on both ends of the river. Knowing this, Korrina and Edelgard decided the best course of action was to once again split the party. Korrina, Edelgard, Hubert, Caspar, Alois, Hanneman and Lindhardt would take the lower network that would take them straight to where Judith was waiting for them. Ferdinand, Silvain, Bernadetta, Petra, Dorothea, Shamir and Manuela would take the upper network and ambush Judith's forces from the back. At first, this seemed to be a solid plan, and morale was high. The enemy soldiers guarding the bridge were tough, but nothing the Black Eagle Strike Force couldn't handle. Then the problems started. It turned out that Ignatz became a sniper in the 5 years that Korrina had been missing and was assigned to be Judith's bodyguard. Ignatz was also a pretty good shot, too. Nearly anyone who approached Judith was shot down before they could lay a hand on her. Thanks to Ignatz's marksmanship, Judith was able to stay in control of the situation long enough for the reinforcements to arrive. The reinforcements in question were led by Leonie and a rather whiny noble called Acheron. Even more worrying was the fact that Leonie came in right where some of the more frail units in the Black Eagle Strike Force were. Korrina was left with no choice but to use Divine Pulse and better prepare the Black Eagle Strike Force for Leonie. The formation was the same, but this time, the squad positioned where Leonie was located stood their ground and deliberately waited for her to show up. Before Leonie had a chance to attack, she was zapped from afar by Dorothea's lightning magic and shot at by Shamir. Silvain dealt the killing blow, and Leonie died cursing the Black Eagles. This display of ruthlessness caused Acheron to show his true colors and run away without any orders to retreat whatsoever. With the reinforcements all gone (no thanks to Acheron's cowardice), the Black Eagle Strike Force had free reign of the upper network. They all wasted no time in cleaning out the remaining soldiers on that network, seizing the ballista and using it to pick off the soldiers on the lower network one by one. Realizing that the tide had turned against her, Judith was left with no choice but to swallow her pride and retreat. Some would consider this a victory, but not Edelgard. For her, Judith needed to be captured or killed in order for any victory to surface. Korrina was slightly more satisfied with what had been accomplished, but she understood that Judith could become a threat if allowed to fight another day and reluctantly continued the fight. The Black Eagle Strike Force was able to ambush and kill Ignatz while he was running away, but the rest of the soldiers brought enough time for Judith to escape. This was the end result for the next several times Korrina used Divine Pulse, and it was beginning to impact her head and heart. Eventually, Korrina decided to throw all caution to the wind and just snipe Judith before all the reinforcements are dealt with. Korrina made a beeline for Judith's location, dodging as many of Ignatz's arrows as she could. She then transferred some of her God Ki into the Sword of the Creator, assumed its whip form, then swung it vertically to release that God Ki in the form of a massive energy wave. Judith stood absolutely no chance of surviving the energy wave and was split down the middle the moment said energy wave hit her. After several Divine Pulses, the battle was finally won.

As Ignatz kneeled over Judith's 2 halves, Korrina approached him and said, "It's over, Ignatz. Put down the bow and surrender, and I promise no further harm will come to you or the remaining soldiers." Ignatz wasn't in the mood to negotiate immediately, though. He got up, pointed his bow right at Korrina's head, and said, "You killed Judith…and so many other good men today…I'll never forgive you!" Instead of fighting, however, Korrina simply closed the distance and took the bow away from Ignatz. She then said, "Is this what you want, Ignatz? The battle is already lost. You continue the fight, and you'll die for nothing. You still have a full life ahead of you, and the potential to become an amazing artist. Don't throw that away for a battle you cannot win." Ignatz still hated Korrina for what she did that day, but he seemed to understand her point of view. He turned his back to her and left without saying another word. As Ignatz left, Korrina said to him, "You don't have to join our side or even forgive me. Just don't raise your bow against me or the Adestrian Empire ever again and you'll never have to worry about us again." Ignatz never responded to that statement, nor did he ever see or hear from Korrina ever again. That coldness and hatred from a former friend, combined with the fact that Leonie couldn't be spared, was something that followed Korrina for centuries. Not even the celebration of her subordinate's victory could cheer her up, and it would only get worse from here.


	15. Day of Deception

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 15: Day of Defiance

Korrina was relatively surprised to learn that the Black Eagle Strike Force would not be staying at the Great Bridge of Myrddin. After all, they spent the better half of the day and multiple Divine Pulses taking that thing, and she figured that the team best equipped to hold that location were the ones who just got done taking it. However, Edelgard's explanation made sense. The Great Bridge of Myrddin was a bridge and defensive outpost, but Garreg Mach was a defensive outpost, former university, center of commerce, and potential living space for multiple people. In Edelgard's eyes, Garreg Mach would provide a far greater area to rest, restock, train and plan than the Great Bridge of Myrddin. Besides, it's not like Edelgard was leaving the Great Bridge of Myrddin unguarded. Another military division headed by Lord Bergliez would be using that area as their personal quarters. Even if they couldn't hold it, Garreg Mach was close enough for a reasonable counterattack should the worst happen. With that in mind, the Black Eagle Strike Force returned to Garreg Mach for the time being.

A few days later, Edelgard called Korrina into Rhea's former chamber for a meeting. Korrina wasn't sure what Edelgard wanted to speak about, since every report they received indicated that the invasion of Leicester was going smoothly. However, it soon became apparent that Edelgard wanted to talk more about Claude. She wanted to know Korrina's impression of the lad first and foremost. Korrina thought for a moment, then responded by saying, "To be honest, it was always difficult to get a good read on Claude. Sometimes, he seemed like a complete buffoon that never took anything seriously. Other times, it seemed like he was the smartest guy in the room." Thankfully, this indecisive answer was enough to please Edelgard. She said to her sister and co-empress that Claude was always able to pull off the impossible, either in spite of him acting like a fool or because of it. Korrina understood that part, but she didn't quite know what her sister and co-empress Edelgard meant when she said that it was as true now as ever. Thus, Edelgard explained that Claude was able to protect the Leicester Alliance with his cunning alone, continuously intermediating, negotiating and conceding between opposing houses all for the sake of preserving the image of a united Leicester. So long as Claude maintains this path, the Adestrian Empire would always fail to recruit anyone from there. Korrina seemed to understand now, and replied with, "I see. So that's why you are so insistent on taking out Claude. You think he has some last-minute trick up his sleeve that he would use to wipe us out when we least expect it." Hubert surprised the co-empresses by coming in to confirm that fear. He came to deliver a report that Claude has completely sealed off the city of Derdriu. Even the people living there can't enter or leave the city without going though a few hoops. Hubert took this to mean that Claude was preparing for something big, and even though the co-empresses did not go as far as Hubert, they did agree that Claude was plotting something. With this in mind, Edelgard gave the order to launch an invasion of Leicester from the Great Bridge of Myrddin, and Korrina reluctantly followed suit. Hubert picked up on Korrina's hesitation and reassured the co-empress by saying, "If you're still worried about political backlash, don't be. All the alliance lords who oppose the empire will be fighting alongside Claude that day. Once Claude is dead, everyone else will see the folly of opposing us and rush to our side like moths to a flame." Korrina then waited until after Hubert left the room, then quietly asked Edelgard if death was really the only way. Surprisingly, Edelgard agreed. She wished that it could all be over before the fighting began and didn't see the point of raising a weapon in the first place if you're just going to eventually throw it down anyway. Korrina responded by saying, "People fight for various reasons. One of the most prominent is to defend themselves from a greater enemy. Even if the odds are close to impossible, it's often better to die defending what you believe in than stand by and allow others to trample over that thing. That's why I was originally opposed to invading Leicester. From their point of view, we may be that greater enemy." Edelgard didn't seem to agree with Korrina's closing statement, but she saw that continuing to argue about this would get them nowhere. Thus, the co-empresses agreed to just hope that invading Leicester would eventually yield positive results.

Since the Black Eagle Strike Force still had a few days before they could safely commence an attack on Derdriu without having to worry about outside interference. Korrina thought this as good a time as ever to check in on her old colleague Hanneman. They had some small conversations last month, but never enough time for a full-on visit like they could 5 years ago. It turned out that some of Hanneman's work was destroyed in the attack on Garreg Mach, but it was nothing he couldn't recover from. At the moment, Hanneman was more interested in why Korrina was unconscious for so long. The only answer Korrina had was that she used up entirely too much power fighting Catherine and Rhea back to back and was thrown quite a distance by Rhea's final attack. Even someone with a healthy heart would have difficulty recovering from all that without a long "hibernation" period. This caused Hanneman to say, "Perhaps I've been looking at this from the wrong angle, then. Maybe the more appropriate question is, 'how did you survive that encounter?' After all, most ordinary people would die from an experience like that." Korrina then hypothesized that it could have something to do with the God Ki she received a few months prior to that. Hanneman believed that Korrina's hypothesis could be correct, but he still wanted to test it out. Thankfully, Lord Arundel was able to give him technology that allowed him to look inside a person's body without cutting them open first. Morally reprehensible as Arundel was, he did at the very least help give the Adestrian Empire a medical and technological revolution with all his equipment. Korrina relented to letting Hanneman use that device on her, and what they found was quite shocking. Despite being able to function like a normal human being, Korrina's heart almost did not beat at all. If it wasn't for the God Ki that Korrina received 5 years ago, she likely would have died fighting Rhea. In that sense, Korrina could almost be considered a zombie. With her heart effectively compromised, God Ki was the only thing left that kept Korrina functioning. If she dispelled too much of it at once, Korrina would die for real. Before leaving, Korrina had one more question she wanted to ask Hanneman. She said, "Why did you stay with Edelgard for so long? Your main field is crest studies, and she wants to abolish the crest system entirely. Wouldn't that put you out of a job?" Hanneman understood and said with an odd amount of seriousness, "I see. You believe my alliance with Edelgard makes me a hypocrite due to our opposing views on crests. I won't deny that is how things would appear at first, but the reality is that Edelgard and I are not so different." This spiked Korrina's interest, but Hanneman turned unusually somber as he recounted his story to her. Hanneman said with pauses, "My father was born with a major crest. I was born with a minor crest, but my sister was born with no crests at all. Some nobles saw potential in my sister, so she was married off in hopes that her children would bear my crest instead. However, my sister could never produce a child with a crest, and that in turn caused her husband to despise her. My sister…died around your age. They blamed it on a lot of things, but deep inside, I knew that our society and its priority of crests were to blame for her passing. That is why I committed to being a crest scholar in the first place: to ensure that the powers and gifts of having a crest can become readily available to anyone that desires them. Maybe then, my sister can finally rest in peace…" Korrina finally understood what Hanneman stood for and decided to let him mourn in peace for the day.

The day before the attack on Derdriu was set to commence, Edelgard came to give one last warning about Claude. Korrina had already heard about what a supposed schemer Claude was supposed to be, but even if she were able to outsmart him, Claude still had one last weapon: a Relic called Failnaught. Although this was meant to be a warning, however, Korrina couldn't help but find the name Failnaught hilarious. This then prompted Edelgard to say: "This isn't a laughing matter, sis. Failnaught is just like Claude: unassuming on the outside but dangerous on the inside." While Edelgard was talking about the relics to her sister and co-empress, she decided that now would be as good a time as ever to tell Korrina the true story of the 10 Relics. Apparently, all 10 of the Relics were actually man made, but taken by Seiros after she killed each of their original owners. She also manipulated the people of the world into thinking that Nemesis was completely evil before killing him and maintained that false history for a millennium. Korrina accepted most of this version, but there was still one thing she didn't understand. If the 10 relics were truly man-made, then why do they only work when the right person wields it and transform everyone else into monsters? Why did they specifically need Crest Stones to work, and were the Crest Stones artificially created too? If so then what sort of strange technology did their ancestors truly have? Unfortunately, Edelgard didn't know the answers to those questions. This knowledge was spread orally from emperor to emperor, and it was clear that some crucial details were lost along the way. Even if Edelgard did have full knowledge of what exactly happened between Seiros and Nemesis, though, she was only concerned with overthrowing Rhea at the moment anyhow. Korrina was too, but she was also determined to learn the full truth about that time. However, the main concern at that moment was finishing Claude and hopefully gaining some more allies from this.

Not too much about Derdriu had changed from the last time Korrina was there. The port still had the exact same layout that it had when Korrina defended the place from pirates, but now she was the one attacking the city, and her enemies the ones defending it. Thankfully, Edelgard and Hubert devised a solid plan. For now, the main goal of the Black Eagle Strike Force was to secure the port area. Once that happened, the rest of Derdriu would simply be a sitting duck. There was just one problem, though. Lysithea was the one that Claude chose to meet them at the gates, and it was clear that her magic had gotten even stronger than it was 5 years ago. If she wasn't taken out quickly, Lysithea could have easily vaporized the entire Black Eagle Strike Force with just 2 spells. Thus, Korrina had everyone else fall back while she rushed her former friend and sliced her with the Sword of the Creator before she could finish her dark magic. Lysithea seemed to accept her fate, but Korrina had other plans. Instead of finishing off Lysithea, Korrina instead gave her former friend the chance to join the Black Eagle Strike Force. Not only was Lysithea still just a teenager, but her house (Ordelia) was essentially being forced into this battle against her will. For those two reasons, Korrina took pity on Lysithea and decided to show her mercy instead. Most of the Black Eagle Strike Force thought that Korrina had lost her mind recruiting a former enemy just like that, but Lysithea was grateful enough for the second chance that they eventually relented.

Soon afterwards, the Almyran Navy showed up to help Claude in his time of need. This wasn't just a band of pirate pretenders anymore-the Black Eagle Strike Force would now have to deal with the real Almyran Navy. In a masterful maneuver that could only have been thought up by Claude, one of the Almyran ships docked right behind where the Black Eagle Strike Force was entering Derdriu and multiple warriors came down for a sneak attack while dracoknights flew from the rest of the ships and surrounded the Black Eagle Strike Force. What started as a perfectly manageable situation was now beginning to spiral out of control. If Korrina didn't think of something quick, this would have been the end of the line. Seeing the dracoknights beginning to close their circle, Korrina looked to Bernadetta and placed her in charge of taking out the dracoknights while everyone else tried to press on into Derdriu. Shamir would be there to help out Bernadetta, but there were too many of those dracoknights for a stationary archer to take on alone. It had to be a horseback archer like Bernadetta that lead the counteroffensive. For the rest of the Black Eagle Strike Force, all the frail units like Lindhardt, Dorothea, Hanneman and Manuela were forced into the middle where it would be harder to get them while the stronger units like Ferdinand, Caspar and Silvain defended against the initial wave of warriors. Most of the warriors were dealt with easily enough, but the dracoknights were too slippery for a few archers alone to be able to take them all. Dorothea and Hanneman decided to lend a hand in this counteroffensive and start using their strongest lightning magic to severely limit the number of places the dracoknights could fly in. After all, a single one of those thunderbolts was strong enough to down even the most resilient of dracoknights with a single touch. Once this happened, it was easy for Bernadetta and Shamir to finish the counteroffensive. The invasion of Derdriu was back on.

The Almyran Navy was down, but not completely out (otherwise, their general would have sounded the retreat). Korrina knew this, so she sent a second, smaller unit led by Petra to board the Almyran ships and finish the job. The rest of the Black Eagle Strike Force entered Derdriu and moved on to phase 2 of their invasion. Edelgard was quick to notice the 3 port entrances being guarded by 3 of Claude's strongest generals. She accurately assumed that Claude was going to use those entrances to call in reinforcements from inside the city. Thus, Edelgard concluded that if the Black Eagle Strike Force could kill those generals and close the gates to Derdriu, then the Black Eagle Strike Force will just need to focus their efforts on Claude and stand a higher chance at victory. Since Korrina herself was the Black Eagle Strike Force's strongest warrior, she decided to take it upon herself to complete this task while the remaining members of the Black Eagle Strike Force took on the militia Claude sent to guard the city. Most of the militia was easily dealt with, but there were two small problems. The first was that there were still a few Almyran Dracoknights trying to ambush the Black Eagle Strike Force while they accomplished this task. The second was the fact that Hilda was placed in charge of this militia. Hilda was already deceptively strong to begin with, but now she was armed with a relic called the Freikugel: a snail shaped axe that packed a massive punch. It didn't seem to matter who was sent to take care of Hilda; she easily killed every one of the Black Eagle Strike Force with a single hit each. Korrina used Divine Pulse. It finally got to the point where Korrina herself had to put her own task on hold and step in. She hid in a place where Hilda could not see her, waited for Hilda to run out to attack one of her men, then turned the Sword of the Creator into its whip form and wrapped it around Hilda. From there, Korrina used the Sword of the Creator to literally squeeze the life out of Hilda. It only took a minute for the screaming to stop, but for Korrina, it felt like an hour. Once Hilda was down, the Black Eagle Strike Force was clear to close the gates and fully occupy the port. However, Hilda's death scream would never truly leave Korrina's ears.

After another hour passed, Petra was eventually able to defeat the leader of the Almyran Navy and force them to flee. It was a tough battle where Petra could have died a few times, but she had the situation under control and Lindhardt had gotten good at long range healing, so there was nothing to truly worry about. Now all that remained was Claude himself. He was waiting for the Black Eagle Strike Force at the northernmost dock, sitting atop a dragon of his own. Once the Black Eagle Strike Force found Claude and closed the distance, however, Claude took off on his dragon. Korrina tried to clip his dragon's wings with the Sword of the Creator, but Claude was flying just out of reach. Meanwhile, Claude reached for the Failnaught and let loose arrow after arrow. Their speed combined with how far away Claude was firing them made it impossible to dodge them all. It took whatever Divine Pulses Korrina had left at that moment to fully dodge the Failnaught's arrow barrage. Thankfully, there was one variable that Claude had failed to consider. While he was busy raining arrows upon Korrina's forces, Petra flew up behind him for a sneak attack of her own. For the first time in years, Claude was caught off guard. Before he had a chance to change tactics, Petra raised her axe and "slashed him down". Both Claude and his dragon were now in a state of free fall, and Bernadetta used this chance to snipe him on the way down with a few arrows of his own. Even if Claude miraculously survived all that, it didn't matter. Nearly everyone in Derdriu saw Claude falling from the sky. For the Leicester Alliance, the war was lost.

As Korrina and the rest of the Black Eagle Strike Force closed in on Claude, most of them were surprised to find him still alive after all that. Despite that, Claude was smart enough to know he lost and surrendered without any further resistance. Edelgard and some of the others wanted to finish Claude and ensure that the Alliance won't be tempted to rise again, but Korrina had other ideas. Claude was still a very revered person within the alliance, and Korrina felt that her side had already been villainized enough without her making a martyr out of Claude. Thus, Korrina deliberately ignored her sister and co-empress and reached out to pull Claude on his feet. Korrina then looked to Lindhardt and said, "Heal Claude's wounds. We'll need him in top shape when it's time to negotiate his surrender." Edelgard demanded to know what her sister and co-empress was doing, to which Korrina responded by saying, "You said it yourself, Edelgard. Claude is extraordinarily popular in the alliance. Kill him and we can kiss any chance of a positive relationship with Leicester goodbye. Besides, we need SOMEONE to represent Leicester during the surrender negotiations, and what better person than Claude himself?" Claude appreciated the sentiment, but as usual, he had other plans. Claude believed that the Leicester Alliance would never fully support Edelgard so long as he was in charge, so he decided to leave it all in her hands and leave the continent forever. Many of the Black Eagle Strike Force agreed with this decision as a compromise (even if some of them still thought that killing Claude was the superior alternative), so they decided to let him go. Claude thanked Korrina for sparing his life then gave Edelgard his support for her future endeavors before sailing towards his real home: Almyra. As the rest of the Black Eagle Strike Force started back towards Garreg Mach in preparation for a full-scale invasion of Faerghus, Korrina couldn't help but gaze in the direction that Claude left in one last time. Encountering Claude again after all these years and seeing the type of man he became admittedly made Korrina wonder how things would have turned out if she chose the Golden Deer instead. She heard Claude mumbling something about wanting to unify the continent himself, and she was rather curious about how he would have gone about doing that. It couldn't be helped now though. Korrina was co-empress of Adestria now. There was no such thing as going back from that. All Korrina could do now was look to the future and come up with a way to defeat Rhea and Dimitri.


	16. Blood of the Innocent

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 16: Blood of the Innocent

There wasn't much time for the Black Eagle Strike Force to truly celebrate their victory over Claude. The moment they returned to Garreg Mach, Edelgard and Hubert went straight to work on coming up with a strategy to overcome the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and the Knights of Seiros. Edelgard and Hubert were not at all happy with Korrina's decision to spare Claude behind their backs, but if there was one good thing that came out of Korrina's behavior that day, it was that she was able to gain the approval of both factions of the alliance. Thanks to her, the people and nobles of Leicster now believed that there was at least one high ranking person in the empire that was looking out for them, and so long as that illusion was maintained, the Adestrian Empire would have their full support. Despite this, Edelgard still insisted that control of the alliance be handed to House Bergliez. Korrina was not completely sure about this, as she did not know Caspar's father that well and wanted someone that would not be too hard on the Leicester Alliance in charge of the place. However, Edelgard and Caspar both assured Korrina that Lord Bergliez did not fully support the invasion of Leicester either and has promised to at least take a neutral stance in governing matters over there. That relieved Korrina somewhat, though she still had doubts in her head. More troubling, however, was Hubert's report that Lord Arundel was in Derdriu at that present moment. Without thinking or giving Hubert a chance to explain what specifically Lord Arundel was doing in Derdriu, Korrina ordered, "No. Get Lord Arundel out of that city as soon as possible! The longer we allow that 'man' to do as he pleases, the more we jeopardize our new relationship with the alliance!" Edelgard lowkey felt the same way, but unlike her sister and co-empress, she was not yet ready to make enemies with Arundel. Not until after the Church of Seiros had been properly dealt with. Besides, Hubert insisted that Lord Arundel was only in Derdriu to collect and destroy the alliance's Relics. Nevertheless, Korrina insisted on relaying an order to Lord Bergliez to watch Arundel like a hawk, obtain the relics from Lord Arundel upon completion of his tasks, and ensure that none of the alliance citizens are turned into monsters while he was in the city. In Korrina's mind, failure to do so could sew the seeds of discontent within Leicester and loosen Lord Bergliez's grip on the region. Hubert was visibly disappointed and annoyed with Korrina's lack of faith, but he could tell from the body language of everyone in the room that Korrina's sentiment was a popular one. Thus, Hubert reluctantly passed the order to Lord Bergliez.

From there, the attention of the council turned to how to best deal with the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Korrina was quite surprised to hear Hubert's report that the kingdom wasn't completely united behind Dimitri and Rhea, and that defeating House Blaiddyd (Dimitri's House), Rhea, and a few of the key noble houses would be all that would be needed to win. With a hint of skepticism, Edelgard raised an eyebrow and said, "All? Are you sure that our recent string of victories has not gone to your head, Hubert?" Hubert insisted that he was only stated the truth before listing the houses that would need to be crushed: Fraldarius (Felix's house), Galatea, Gautier and Charon. Silvain lowered his head when he heard the name of his house mentioned, as the realization finally hit him that this really was going to end with both of his parents dying. Dorothea picked up on this immediately and asked Silvain what was wrong. Silvain insisted that nothing was wrong, and that he could handle fighting his own house, but there was still an air of uncertainty in his voice (something that attracted a rather foul stare from Hubert). Hubert then struck a rather concerning tone as he suggested using Silvain as a hostage to threaten House Gautier into compliancy, but Silvain insisted that that would not be necessary. Silvain then said that his parents were not going to listen to reason anyway, and that he would be ready to fight when the time comes. After all, even if they were Silvain's parents, the system they propagated still ruined his brother's life and probably the lives of a few others. For that, Silvain would gladly do his part to unseat his own parents. Hubert was still unconvinced, but Edelgard wanted to move onto potential alliances within the kingdom. Her first thought was House Rowe, but it turned out that Felix's dad had cracked down on their territory and put it under his personal control. Thus, allying with House Rowe was impossible and the loss of their territory (a massive fortress city named Arianrhod) put the Adestrian Empire at a severe disadvantage. However, the Adestrian Empire still had one advantage over the Kingdom of Faerghus: their conquest of the Leicester Alliance gave them a much larger amount of land, resources and soldiers to use than their enemies. Thus, Edelgard's initial plan was a 2-pronged assault. Their forces in the Leicester Alliance would cross the eastern border this month and get the invasion going, then the Black Eagle Strike Force would move in from the southern border and finish the Knights of Seiros. Korrina was a bit confused about the window between attacks, to which Edelgard said that it would give the Black Eagle Strike Force more time to rest from their long battle in Derdriu and prepare for the worst.

The next day, Korrina received some expected and unexpected new allies. Towards the beginning of the day, Albein (who was able to reclaim his job as gatekeeper) brought in a rather unattractive man with purple hair cut sideways and a face that seemed to always be in a smirk who was asking to see Korrina and Edelgard. The man then bowed and said, "My name is Lorenz Helman Gloucester. Lord Bergliez had placed me in charge of the invasion of Faerghus, and I have come to express my utmost gratitude." Lorenz then went on to have a somewhat unnecessarily long discussion about his house's long history with Adestria and the reasons for allying with Edelgard from the very beginning. Korrina admittedly stopped paying attention by the third paragraph, but she was glad to have Lorenz on her side. The two had talked a few times back when Lorenz was just a student and Korrina just a professor, but nothing truly stood out to him back then other than him being a proud noble of the alliance. A half hour into Lorenz talking, Ferdinand came to see his old friend. The two were very close back when they were students, and even after all those years, that bond had not weakened. Ferdinand then took Lorenz out for some tea and other noble activities, and the co-empresses finally knew some peace and quiet. As Korrina went shopping for weapons later that day, she met with another familiar face: her old friend Raphael. The man originally went back to being a merchant in hopes of surviving the war, but after he heard about what had happened in Derdriu, he dug out his old gauntlets and decided to help Korrina for the rest of her journey. It was Raphael's way of thanking Korrina for saving Ignatz and Claude from certain death. Out of guilt, Korrina asked, "But what about Leonie? Weren't you two together last time I saw you?" Raphael's expression gradually changed as he said, "We were, but we broke up shortly after the war started. I wanted to become a merchant and ride it out. Leonie was very eager to avenge Jeralt and joined the knighthood. I still remember the last thing I said to her…'I do love you, but if you can't let go of the past, you won't have much of a future!'…Funny how things come true sometimes…right, Korrina?" At this point, Raphael was on the verge of tears. Even if he forgave Korrina for letting Leonie die (not everything can be controlled on the battlefield, after all), it was still apparent that the death of his former love affected the big man. After a bit of thought, Korrina grabbed Raphael's arm and said, "Wanna work out? I remember we used to do it all the time after Jeralt passed away." Although this suggestion didn't make Raphael 100% better, he still gladly accepted the offer. After all, Raphael hadn't seen real combat in 5 years and wanted to ensure he was still in fighting shape when the time came to invade Faerghus. Even Manuela joined in on their training, as she wanted a more productive outlet for her man problems than simply drinking her life away.

Unfortunately, the consequences of Korrina's actions in Derdriu were not all positive. The following week, a report came in of a full-scale invasion from Almyra (the same place Claude was headed towards). Normally, House Goneril would be the one to deal with these threats. However, Hilda was killed by Korrina and her father Holst had fallen ill. Thus, it fell to the Black Eagle Strike Force to pick up the slack and defend their continent from the oncoming Almyrans. The road to House Goneril was a long one, but once the Black Eagle Strike Force saw what awaited them, they started to prefer boring travelling. Everyone knew that the Almyran had brought a large number of troops, but no one was expecting to be outnumbered 2 to 1. Simply guarding the fortress leading into Goneril Territory would not be enough this time. If the Black Eagle Strike Force was to have any chance of surviving, they needed to rely on the old saying "a good offense is the best defense". The only problem with this plan was that their battleground was a mountain range, and the Almyrans still had a large number of dracoknights. However, no one had a better alternative. Petra, Hubert, Lorenz, Silvain, Manuela and Alois took the northern route. Caspar, Lindhardt, Ferdinand, Bernadetta and Hanneman took the southern route. Korrina, Edelgard, Dorothea, Shamir, Raphael and Lysithea took the central route. It seemed at first like Petra's dragon would give the Black Eagle Strike Force a fighting chance in this mountainous area, but the Almyrans came prepared this time. Nearly every Almyran that couldn't fly had a bow on them this time around, and once they saw Petra, they opened fire. Petra was left with no choice but to fall back and let the others clear the way for her. Thankfully, Lorenz was good for more than just talking and seeing to affairs. His unique talent for casting magic while riding a horse allowed him to burn a few Almyrans, then step back before they could retaliate. Those that survived Lorenz were promptly chopped down by Alois's axe, and those who somehow survived all that were rewarded with whatever Hubert had in mind. The southern end was fortunately an area that the Almyrans did not pay much attention to, so the part of the Black Eagle Strike Force that assigned there was easily able to take care of the Almyran warriors there and meet up with the main force. The center route was probably the most dangerous since the Black Eagle Strike Force had to deal with the giant birds living there as well as the Almyrans. Shamir's marksmanship once again proved a vital asset when handling these two forces, and the co-empresses alone were able to dispatch the Almyrans without significant injury. The birds were more of a hassle than the Almyrans due to their high speed and how long it took to die, but once the southern division caught up, the Black Eagle Strike Force was able to outnumber and overpower the birds. Soon after this, though, the Almyran dracoknights started a full force assault. Bernadetta and Shamir were able to thin their numbers somewhat, but it took nearly everyone on the Black Eagle Strike Force to prevent the Almyrans from getting anywhere close to House Goneril. It took everyone who could use magic or a bow to slay all the Almyran dracoknights, but after an hour or two of endless fighting and stress, the Almyrans finally stopped coming. All that remained now was their leader. After taking out the last remaining archers, everyone closed in on the other half of the border. There, a proud warrior named Nader was waiting for them. If it were just Petra again, this could have been a drawn out fight. Instead, Shamir waited on Nader to reveal himself and shot him in the forehead with a single arrow the moment he charged towards the Black Eagle Strike Force. Because Nader was highly revered in Almyra, the remaining forces wasted no time in retreating after they found out he was dead. For the time, Almyra was no longer a threat. Most of the Black Eagle Strike Force stayed the night at House Goneril, but Korrina insisted on heading back and sleeping elsewhere. When asked why, Korrina said it was because she thought negotiations with House Goneril would go a lot smoother if the woman who took their future away was not present at the meeting.

When the Black Eagle Strike Force returned to Garreg Mach, Korrina was already inside her throne room deliberating on whether Hilda's death was justified. Until Korrina came back to the surface, everyone else just went back to their usual activities. It actually took a while for Korrina to figure out that everyone had returned as very few people ever tend to interrupt her while she is on her throne. Korrina tried to find Edelgard so she could ask how the meeting with Holst went, but she wasn't able to find her sister and co-empress in any of the usual spots. Thus, Korrina began combing the entire monastery (or at least whatever parts of it were back in working order) in search of Edelgard. When Korrina finally got into the upper floor of the dorms where they used to live, Korrina heard a frustrated scream that clearly belonged to Edelgard. Korrina then burst through the door shouting "What's wrong, sister!?". Edelgard was extremely flustered to learn that someone heard her and started getting defensive. Edelgard then tried to say that it was just a rat. Korrina was a little bit confused as to why a simple rat would warrant that much screaming, but Edelgard was able to explain that rats gave her flashbacks to her days as an experiment, as her holding cell was filled with them. Korrina accepted this at first, then she found that it was something more. Apparently, Edelgard was trying to paint something, and when she saw the rat, she panicked and spilled paint all over her desk. This was something Korrina had to infer though, as Edelgard pushed her out of her room the moment Korrina started inquiring about it.

The following day, Korrina went to Rhea's former chambers to try and speak with Edelgard again. Korrina still wanted to know what her sister and co-empress was painting, but Edelgard insisted on keeping it a secret. Korrina decided to give it a rest as she felt the matter was too small to provoke her sister over, but she still wanted to discuss the matter of Edelgard's visit with House Goneril. From there, Edelgard relayed the information that House Goneril had now grown to trust the Adestrian Empire and plan on letting them handle the border from now on as House Goneril lost a lot of its power after the attack on Derdriu. Korrina was also relieved to hear that Hilda still had a brother that could carry on House Goneril's legacy and that she didn't have to worry as much about stealing their future away. After that, Edelgard turned her thoughts toward Almyra. Despite what happened a few days ago, Edelgard believed that the Almyrans could eventually be reasoned with as they were not blindly loyal to one individual or doctrine like the Church of Seiros was. Korrina did not agree, as the Almyrans struck her as very ruthless and aggressive whereas the Church of Seiros was at least accommodating before she got on Rhea's bad side. Nevertheless, Edelgard still believed that all they needed to do was look past the fighting and try to find some common ground. Edelgard then began to sigh, and Korrina asked what was wrong. Edelgard responded by saying that she was tired of the nonstop fighting, preparing and discussing. She wanted to take a break from it all, but Hubert would never allow it. Korrina asked if there was anything Edelgard would rather do instead, to which Edelgard answered that she would just eat sweets all day. Korrina then said, "Then let's do just that. We could even bring Lysithea along too. She used to love those things. It will just like old times." Edelgard seemed to like the idea, but as if on cue, Hubert and Petra showed up with more work. It wasn't just busy work either. The Knights of Seiros had entered Petra's homeland of Brigid and taken several hostages in an effort to force Petra's grandfather to switch sides. It was something of an emergency, and since Lorenz and Raphael had returned home to prepare for their invasion of Faerghus, the Black Eagle Strike Force would be shorthanded this time. Despite this, Korrina and Edelgard both decided to move out anyway.

Unfortunately for the Black Eagle Strike Force, the jungles of Brigid were far from an ideal fighting place. There wasn't much room for movement, and the cover was so thick that the enemy could appear from anywhere. Thankfully, this applied to the Knights of Seiros as well. Noone seemed to know that the Black Eagle Strike Force was at Brigid, so for the time, Korrina had the element of surprise. At the start, Petra was mainly going to fly over the jungles and rescue the hostages. However, the Knights of Seiros proved to be much more powerful than they were 5 years ago. It also did not take long for a few to spot the Black Eagle Strike Force and charge in from the west. Korrina met them head on while the rest followed Petra to the southeast in hopes of protecting her. In that direction was some mighty swordsmen, but Lysithea was able to blast them away with her powerful dark magic. Meanwhile, Caspar and Alois helped Korrina take on the cavalry. The initial wave was manageable for the 3, but before long, more and more started coming. Meanwhile, Lysithea's shows of dark magic were beginning to draw the attention of the other swordsmen in the area. Bernadetta was unable to come to Lysithea's aid due to thick jungles being bad for horses, but Hubert was able to pick up the slack and drown the swordsmen in dark magic of his own before they could touch Lysithea. Korrina needed backup on her end, so Ferdinand, Silvain and Lindhardt were sent her way. After a while, it seemed like the reinforcements had stopped and Petra was free to capture the hostages. Then the nightmare truly began. It turned out that Catherine was in charge of the church's little endeavor on Brigid, and all this fighting attracted her attention. New reinforcements came in from every conceivable direction and wasted no time picking off the Black Eagle Strike Force one by one. In a hurry, Korrina used Divine Pulse to try to stop her men from dying and went all the way back to before anybody noticed them. It took a few hours to reconfigure her strategy so that the reinforcements didn't kill everyone, and eventually Korrina decided on concentrating all her forces on the eastern front. This would force the cavalry to chase them into the jungle and lose the terrain advantage, plus the extra numbers would put more pressure on the reinforcements. The idea was different from what Korrina normally did, but it paid off. Now the Black Eagle Strike Force was free to clean out the eastern reinforcements, then wait in the jungle for everyone else to come to them. There were more Pegasus knights in those reinforcements than Korrina would have liked to deal with, and Shamir was unable to properly see them without blowing her cover. However, Alois was able to strike down most of them with a single blow each. The rest were dealt with by Edelgard. With the initial wave down, the Black Eagle Strike Force was now free to concentrate their efforts on Catherine. Dorothea said that she was working on a secret weapon that would turn the tides of battle, but no one was expecting that secret weapon to be a meteor that would deal immense damage to Catherine and take out the troops around her. Because Dorothea had not perfected this technique, however, it fell to the Black Eagle Strike Force to finish the job. They collectively pushed through the remaining mages and generals to reach the weakened Catherine, where Lysithea finished her off in spectacular fashion. This wouldn't be the last the Black Eagle Strike Force saw of Catherine, but for now, the hostages and Petra's grandfather were safe. After a brief exchange in their native tongue, Petra convinced her grandfather that continuing to support the empire was the right idea. While they were waiting for Petra to get done catching up with her grandfather, Korrina couldn't help but notice Bernadetta investigating the plant life. Korrina told Bernadetta, "I didn't know you liked plants, Bernadetta?" Surprisingly, Bernadetta did not panic or get defensive this time. Instead, she started explaining with great excitement her love of plants (especially carnivorous plants). Korrina wasn't as fond of carnivorous plants, but Bernadetta was at least able to give Korrina a different point of view on how they operate. After a few minutes, Korrina smiled and said, "I don't think I've ever seen this side of you before, Bernadetta." Bernadetta explained that that was because plants don't stress her out the way people do. The 2 then reflected on the past and how far Bernadetta had come. Bernadetta actually thanked Korrina for allowing her to start again on life and finally become her own person. Korrina was happy too, and thankfully Petra came back with the news before she could mess it up somehow. After relaying the expected information about her grandfather's support, Petra thanked Korrina for her help and reinstated her dream to elevate her country's position to that of the Adestrian Empire's equal. With that, everyone headed back to Garreg Mach in high spirits.

The rest of the month was mainly spent resting from those two battles. At first, the invasion of Faerghus seemed to be going as planned. Then the reports started getting more and more negative. Apparently, the Knights of Seiros had planned a surprise invasion of Garreg Mach at the same time that the alliance was supposed to start their invasion of Faeerghus. The 2 armies met at the Valley of Torment, and a massive fight started. Also, a smaller force led by Seteth had broken off from the Knights of Seiros and was heading for the monastery as they spoke. They were supposedly attacking from the north, but as Korrina was already made aware of, Garreg Mach had numerous entrances and exits that the public was not fully aware of. Nevertheless, the Black Eagle Strike Force was stationed in the forest to the north while the rest of the knights stationed at Garreg Mach were positioned at every entrance that Edelgard knew of. While everyone was preparing for this surprise attack, Korrina went to Albein's station and insisted on pulling him out of the fight. Albein was confused as to why Korrina wouldn't let him do his job, but Korrina knew that fighting was not Albein's strong suit. If the Knights of Seiros were to go for the front instead, Albein would be killed for sure. Korrina did not want to risk that. Albein was one of the things that kept her going through all this, and she told him so as well. Thus, Albein promised to fall back so he could make her smile again when this was all over. After that, Korrina made it back to her own forces and said, "Here's the plan. Seteth may be our enemy, but throughout the time I have known him, he has almost always been a logical and rational person. Unlike Rhea, Seteth can be reasoned with. If we can kill every man out there but him, we may be able to convince him that his side is destined to lose." Some of the Black Eagle Strike Force (particularly Shamir and Hubert) objected to this strategy as they perceived that Korrina had gone soft on them, but they also knew that Korrina was right about Seteth. The strategy did have a chance of working…so long as Flayn was not on the battlefield too.

When the Knights of Seiros finally arrived at Garreg Mach, Hubert immediately noticed odd behavioral patterns in the knights' movement. Instead of heading straight for the monastery, they were spreading out in the forest instead. Although Edelgard wanted to maintain their defensive position, Korrina was not about to let Seteth achieve what he was set out to do and lead the Black Eagle Strike Force into the forest as well. The small maze of trees and buildings made it difficult to effectively track anyone, so the Black Eagle Strike Force had to spread out and search in groups. The Church of Seiros seemed to have the upper hand due to their Pegasus knights and dracoknights, but since the forest outside Garreg Mach was not as thick as the forest in Brigid, it was significantly easier for Shamir to shoot them all down. There were also some generals, swordsmen among the Knights of Seiros, but they weren't as strong as the ones that the Black Eagle Strike Force had faced in Brigid. Nearly everyone in the Black Eagle Strike Force was now strong enough to take these small fry out in a single blow. However, there were some troubling report of the knights bringing flammable material into the woods. It was now clear that the Knights of Seiros were intending to start a forest fire and use that as a smokescreen to slip into the monastery through another route. The situation had now turned dire as the Black Eagle Strike Force began to frantically search for the Knights of Seiros, intentionally springing traps in order to reveal as many enemies as possible. Eventually, the Black Eagle Strike Force was able to find the warriors, snipers, and bishops transporting the flammable material and kill them before any true fires could start. Silvain and Caspar were the main forces responsible for preventing the forest fires from breaking out, as Silvain's mobility allowed him to find the specific knights carrying the flammable material while Caspar was strong and fast enough to take them out before they could even process what happened. With their plan thwarted, the Knights of Seiros seemed destined to lose now. However, even though the Black Eagle Strike Force was projected to win, they still had one last unpleasant obstacle to overcome.

Flayn had prepared an ambush right where Bernadetta and Ferdinand were searching, and neither side knew she was participating in this battle. They both tried to talk down Flayn, but she wasn't hearing it. Instead, Flayn responded by enveloping Ferdinand in a column of light magic. Bernadetta then fired a few non-lethal arrows at Flayn in an effort to scare her off, but that didn't work either. It looked like Flayn was about to use some more light magic, but Ferdinand recovered from his initial attack and started fighting back. Since Flayn wasn't going to stand down, Ferdinand would fight her for real. Before Flayn could finish her next spell, Ferdinand ran her through with a spear. He didn't intend to kill her with that stab (or at all), but in the end, Ferdinand's strength was too great and Flayn too frail. Flayn struggled to gain enough strength to apologize to Seteth for dying before him, then passed away in an instant. Ferdinand realized what he did, and tried to revive Flayn multiple times. However, Ferdinand's efforts were in vain. Seteth also realized what had just transpired, and he too was reduced to a screaming, sobbing mess. Realizing that diplomacy was now off the table and that one of her men had just done something unforgiveable, Korrina approached Seteth in an effort to put him out of his misery. After all, the only thing crueler than killing Flayn in Korrina's mind was forcing Seteth to live without her. Korrina walked up to Seteth (who was still waiting on the other side of the forest) and said, "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do to you. If you were the archbishop instead of Rhea, none of this would-" Before Korrina could finish her sentence, however, Seteth's heart filled with anger and he attacked her mid-sentence. No longer thinking straight, Seteth said with growing anger, "Spare me your patronage, heretic! Turning your sword against Archbishop Rhea is one thing, but killing my daughter-after everything you did for her-is another thing entirely! What did she do to you, Korrina!? What did any of us do to deserve such cruelty!? Why did you even bother saving my daughter if you were just going to kill her later?" Korrina desperately wanted to explain that she didn't even know Flayn was on the battlefield, but it was obvious that Seteth would no longer listen to a word she had to say. The only thing that Korrina could do for her for her former superior was reunite him with his daughter as soon as possible. Although Seteth's attacks were powerful, he was too blinded by rage to really hit Korrina with any of them. All Korrina had to do was jump to the side while Seteth charged then use the Sword of the Creator to cut Seteth across the back before he could turn around. It was a difficult task since Seteth's dragon still had enough sense to keep facing Korrina at all times, but eventually, Korrina got a lucky shot in and ripped Seteth's back wide open. Seteth fell off his dragon in defeat, pitifully murmuring his daughter's name before the life faded from his eyes. Korrina stared at her old superior with heartbroken emptiness, knowing that at least 2 good people died that day due to her overconfidence and inability to consider every possibility. As Korrina assembled the Black Eagle Strike Force, she was disgusted by the fact that the only thing they would talk about was how close the battle was. Neither Seteth nor Flayn's names came out of their mouths at all. Perhaps it was because they had grown numb to death at this point, or perhaps they were intentionally avoiding that conversation out of guilt. Either way, the dissonance only further soured Korrina's mood. Unprovoked, Korrina said, "Caspar, Alois, take Seteth and Flayn and bury their bodies in the cemetery at Garreg Mach. I'd take them to where Seteth's wife was buried if that option was available, but that place is behind enemy lines and extremely far away from here, so we'll just have to settle for the cemetery here. At the very least, Seteth and Flayn deserve a proper burial." The shocked expressions on her subordinates' faces made it clear to Korrina that many of them were also unaware of Flayn's participation or death in this battle. Korrina then said, "Now listen here: just because Rhea is corrupt and unstable doesn't mean that every person that follows her is just as much of a monster. Some of the people you faced here were innocent of Rhea's crimes, but you killed them all the same. If you have to kill an innocent bystander to win, then that is no victory at all. Remember that the next time you go around killing little girls." Ferdinand realized what Korrina was talking about and tried to explain the situation to her, but in doing so, he outed himself as Flayn's killer and dragged House Aegir's name back into disgrace. Korrina immediately pointed at him with a level of wrath no one had seen since she had ordered the attack on Solon, flared her God Ki and shouted, "So you're the one behind this atrocity! You, the very man who prides himself on being noble and setting a good example, killing a child! If a word existed to express how disappointed I am in you right now, I would use it right now! Have you no shame in not just striking down someone we saved in the past, but a child at that? I have passed judgement: from this moment on, you are no longer Ferdinand, Hero of Remire! From this day forward until the day you perish, you shall forever be known as Ferdinand von Childkiller! May the world forever know what you did this day, and weep!" Korrina then turned her back on the Black Eagle Strike force and angrily headed back to her throne room without another word. She never bothered to wash Seteth's blood off of her. For the next few days, people at Garreg Mach would often swear that they heard Rhea cursing Korrina's name in rightful fury for taking Seteth and Flayn's lives.


	17. Thales

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 17: Thales

To say that Korrina did not take the deaths of Seteth and Flayn well was an understatement. Even if they were on opposing sides, Korrina still thought of Flayn as a friend and hoped to make it through this without having to kill her. Korrina wasn't as fond of Seteth, but she still wanted him to live for Flayn's sake and even secretly wanted him to take over as the new archbishop after Rhea was deposed. Now thanks to her men's overzealousness on the battlefield, both of them were gone forever. Korrina desperately wanted to use Divine Pulse and find a way to spare both of their lives, but the reality was that Korrina couldn't think of a way to save them without giving up Garreg Mach in the process. This almost drove Korrina insane. She was a goddess. She was supposed to have the answers for everything, yet here she was without any conceivable answer to speak of. In a way, Korrina was almost no better off than she was in the month after she lost Jeralt. It was enough to make Korrina wonder if she even deserved the title of goddess in the first place. At times, Korrina wondered if Sothis was even a real goddess at all or just some really powerful being that loved the attention she got from humans. After a few hours of pointlessly deliberating these questions, Korrina went into a state of psychosis, her God Ki now completely out of control. Seteth, Flayn, and Hilda were all confronting Korrina at the same time (looking as they were at the time of their deaths), Sothis was continuously admonishing Korrina for her foolishness even though she no longer existed, and the whole time, she was still remembering the cheers she received when she first became Co-Empress of Adestria. Eventually, Korrina used so much God Ki in this psychotic episode that she passed out for the rest of the day.

When Korrina finally came to, she realized that her outburst from the other day had done even more damage to the Holy Tomb than Rhea's outburst 5 years ago. Thankfully, Korrina's throne managed to survive the uncontrolled discharges of God Ki that occurred during Korrina's episode. This caused an epiphany to occur within Korrina's mind. "A goddess shouldn't act like this", Korrina said to herself as she climbed back upon her throne and deliberated how best to end this war. After all, even if Korrina could think a bit straighter now, she was still sick and tired of having to kill good people for a goal that may or may not have been selfish. As Korrina pondered, Bernadetta set foot in the Holy Tomb and said, "You'd better apologize to Ferdinand. He hasn't come out of his room since you called him a childkiller." However, even if Korrina had somewhat regained her senses, she still felt that her judgement of Ferdinand was accurate and said, "Ferdinand knew what he did was wrong, but he still took Flayn's life anyways. Knowing you did something wrong doesn't automatically make it right." Although Bernadetta was somewhat scared of Korrina's fury, she was still appalled enough at Korrina's words to call her out in her own throne room. She said, "You think that Ferdinand just woke up two days ago and said, 'I want to kill Flayn'? No. I was there with Ferdinand when Flayn died, and I can safely tell you that neither of us just murdered her on the sight and moved on with our lives as if we never knew her like you think we did! Flayn struck first! Surely you noticed that big column of light as you were preventing that forest fire! That was Flayn trying to kill us! We tried to scare her away! Believe me! But the only way to survive that battle was to take Flayn's life!" Around this time, tears of anger were flying from Bernadetta's face and she was beginning to talk so quickly that her words were no longer decipherable. Hearing this, Korrina realized that she was indeed being hard on Ferdinand for circumstances that no one could completely control. It was as Raphael said, you can't always control who lives and dies in a situation as chaotic as a war. Korrina forgot that key element during her time as co-empress, and now one of her men was suffering because of it.

Later, Korrina went to Ferdinand's room and asked if she could come in. Fortunately, Ferdinand did not hold much against Korrina for her treatment of him the other day and unlocked the door. It was clear that Ferdinand only left this room to get something to eat, and his cheeks had dried tear marks all over them. Korrina took a deep breath and said, "I realize that I may have been harsh in my judgement of you the other day. I still think it was wrong for you to kill Flayn, but it has occurred to me that I may also be at fault for not considering the possibility of her fighting out there and then turning around and blowing up at you for following an order I gave. I'm sorry for humiliating you in front of your former classmates. I should have handled the situation more tactfully." Although Ferdinand was only slightly mad at Korrina, it was clear that he largely blamed himself for Flayn's death as he responded by saying, "No. The fault is all mine, Empress. Murdering children, even on the battlefield, is something no noble should ever think of doing. You were right, Korrina. I strayed from my own ideals and killed an innocent woman-let alone a former classmate and friend-in the heat of the moment. I no longer deserve the title of a noble." Although Korrina agreed with Ferdinand's assessment of himself, she still regretted that she had this kind of an impact on someone. She sat down next to Ferdinand and said, "In all honesty, Ferdinand, I have probably sinned just as much as you. Back at Derdriu, I choked Hilda with the Sword of the Creator. Hilda-a woman I was once proud to call my sister-was killed by this hand. It wasn't even in self-defense. I did it of my own will because she was too big of a threat. And it is something that has haunted me every day since. Neither of us can really say that we have a pleasant afterlife waiting for us when all this is over, but we do still have some work to do in this life. I'm not going anywhere until Rhea is properly dealt with, and I hope you wouldn't either. All we can do is embrace the flames and not regret the creation of our new world. Got it?" Ferdinand seemed to understand what Korrina was saying. At the very least, it was enough to get him out of the corner and back on his feet. Korrina then reached for Ferdinand's hand and said, "Then let's finish this fight once and for all. May Hilda and Flayn's deaths not be for naught." The two then left to face the world once more.

As Korrina tried to catch up on what had happened while she was closed off from the world, it became clear that the past week had taken a toll on the Adestrian Army. Even if they were able to drive off the Knights of Seiros at the Valley of Torment, it came at far too great of a cost to consider it a victory. Of the forces that were slated to invade Faerghus that day, the only noteworthy people who survived the battle were Lorenz and Raphael. Acheron was originally listed as one of the survivors, but once it was revealed that he actually turned tail and ran the moment Catherine stepped onto the field, he was stripped of his lands and titles and demoted to foot soldier for his repeated acts of cowardice and overall unacceptable conduct. The news about Acheron somewhat amused Korrina, but the fact that they no longer had enough men to continue the invasion of Faerghus as planned was no laughing matter. The Black Eagle Strike Force needed to change tactics quickly if they wanted any chance of winning the war, and with their best tactician (Korrina) emotionally compromised, things had come to a standstill on the strategy end. Even if Korrina's sentimentality was beginning to be a liability, she was still the reason that Edelgard was able to successfully subdue the Leicester Alliance. For that reason, Edelgard was willing to wait a week for Korrina to snap out of it before doing anything too drastic.

Later that day, the first strategy meeting in a full week was convened. Hubert was a bit passive aggressive about Korrina's long break, but the rest were just happy that she was still functioning. Dorothea even seemed to understand what Korrina was going through, as she too lamented the loss of her former friends. Manuela, too, confessed that this war was taking a huge toll on her and that her infirmary was more of a morgue nowadays. Even Alois confessed to being haunted by the people he killed in battle (something that Shamir confirmed, as his wailing keeps her up at night). Nevertheless, it was time to suppress those feelings and find a way to end the war before more people died. Suing for peace was not an option, as both sides hated one another too much to ever agree to anything but the other side's complete destruction. Thus, Korrina said, "I've got an idea. From here on out, let's concentrate all our efforts on finding and killing Rhea. The whole reason this war started in the first place was because of Rhea. Thus, if we can successfully remove her, the rest of the Church of Seiros will have no choice but to stand down. Also, the only reason the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus would have for opposing us after this is pointless revenge." Everyone agreed with Korrina's sentiment, but there was one problem. Rhea's current position was in Fhirdiad, the capital city of Faerghus. Even if the Black Eagle Strike Force concentrated all their efforts into finding and killing Rhea from that day onward, they would still need to get past Dimitri and his army before they could lay a finger on the archbishop. Thus, the war continued as planned (much to everyone's dismay). Edelgard had announced that her next target was Fhirdiad, but that was only a ruse to conceal her real target. In reality, the Black Eagle Strike Force would be going for the Fortress City Arianrhod before any future measures could be taken. Korrina was a bit concerned since most of what she heard about Arianrhod in the past was about how it had never been taken since its construction was finished. However, now that the Adestrian Army had suffered numerous losses to the Knights of Seiros, it was now an even greater risk to try and bypass Arianrhod. Not only would taking Arianrhod remove one of the most problematic sources of reinforcements going forward, but it would also involve the complete removal of House Fraldarius as well as a deceptively clever kingdom tactician named Cornelia who was stationed there. It was definitely a gamble, but a victory at Arianrhod could turn the tide back in Adestria's favor. That logic was enough to convince everyone to approve of the plan. Korrina even added that she had no plans on sparing anyone else going forward. Leicester may have been neutral, but she felt that Faerghus would only continue to fight so long as Dimitri and Rhea were still alive. Thus, peace was no longer an option. Especially now that Seteth and Flayn were gone.

A few days later, Korrina was summoned by Hubert for a top-secret meeting. Things did not start off well as Hubert asked how much Korrina knew about Lord Arundel. Korrina responded by saying, "you mean the terrible 'man' who experimented on my sister and turns innocent people into monsters?" This response caused Hubert to understand that this approach was never going to work on Korrina and instead got to the point. He said that he had been investigating Lord Arundel in secret, and although said investigation is far from complete, he has been able to acquire some…interesting information. Korrina scoffed at this idea and said, "You think I would care to hear anything about that man aside from when I can take action against him" Hubert let out a chuckle and said, "I know something you might care to hear. Do you remember Solon and Kronya?" Korrina responded by saying, "The ones behind the Remire Village incident and my father's death? How could I forget?" Hubert followed this up by saying, "Lord Arundel was their ringleader. Just like them, he has given himself a false name and human body to conceal his true form and intentions. His real name? Thales. I believe you saw his true form when you were trying to prevent Sir Jeralt's murder at the hands of Kronya." Korrina was angered but not surprised at this revelation. In a way, it all made sense to her. Thales was probably breeding Edelgard to be the perfect puppet to take over the world while he controlled her from the shadows. That had to be his master plan: to rule the world through his "Flame Emperor". Korrina's next thought was whether Edelgard knew of this. Hubert responded by saying, "She always had an idea about what her 'uncle' really was. After all, she was the one who wanted me to investigate Thales. She wanted to know as much about him as she could before she betrayed him. The only reason she is not present for this meeting was because I already filled her in on the details." Korrina became annoyed that her sister and co-empress would still keep secrets from her after all that has happened and said, "Hubert. How long have you two been keeping this from me?" Hubert responded by saying, "In truth, this investigation began shortly before Seteth and Flayn attacked the monastery. We would have told you sooner, but you seemed to have a lot on your plate as is." Korrina seemed to understand what Hubert was saying. He was implying that Korrina was not in the right state to be privy to this information. Hubert tried to change the subject and talk about how fascinating Thales and his followers were, but before he could get anywhere with that conversation, Thales came in to see them. The moment Korrina locked eyes with Thales (who was still disguised as Lord Arundel), she wasted no time "going for the throat" and called Thales by his true name in front of others. Rather than being shocked, though, Thales was intrigued at how much Korrina knew about him. Before Korrina could press him further, Thales changed the subject and got to the point of why he was there. Apparently, his new batch of experimental monsters went out of control and he needed someone to take care of the situation for him. Korrina responded to this by saying, "In other words, you want us to clean up your mess for you." Thales confirmed this and said that it would be a shame if some of his fine men were to perish or the monsters got out and started attacking civilians because Korrina couldn't let go of a little grudge. Korrina growled for a second, then said, "Fine, but only because your beasts pose a significant threat when they're not on leashes. Let's go, Hubert." The callousness of Thales's request annoyed Korrina to no end. He behaved as if her and Hubert were his slaves. She couldn't understand why Hubert would deliberately allow a man like him to continue having power. Yet despite all this, she did admit that those experimental beasts could be exceptionally problematic if left to their own devices. Thus, she gathered the Black Eagle Strike Force and went back into the Sealed Forest where the beasts supposedly went amok (even if they were as happy about this as she was).

To better take out the monsters in as timely of a fashion as possible, the Black Eagle Strike Force surrounded the forest and moved in from 3 different angles. Korrina, Edelgard, Hubert, Manuela and Silvain took the top corner. Petra, Caspar, Hanneman, Shamir, Dorothea and Ferdinand took the left corner. Lorenz, Raphael, Alois, Lysithea, Lindhardt and Bernadetta took the right corner. Immediately, the Black Eagle Strike Force began to realize why Arundel specifically needed their help. Not only were these experimental monsters everywhere, but they also wore masks that made them invulnerable against all forms of magic. This in turn made around half of the Black Eagle Strike Force useless until further notice. From Korrina's position, there were two dragonlike monsters to her squad's left and right. Korrina thought for a second then chose to engage the dragon on the left. After all, if it chose to engage the squad in the left corner while they were busy dealing with the dragon in front of them, they wouldn't stand a chance. If nothing else, Korrina's attack could make a good distraction until the dragon the left squad was engaging was taken care of. Meanwhile, the right squad decided to engage the xenomorph further away from them as it was not headed into the forest where it would be harder to fight. Meanwhile in the left squad, Petra, Caspar, and Ferdinand used their bows to attract the nearby dragon's attention. The plan worked, but now it was a race against time to finish the dragon before it closed the distance and started killing everyone. Thankfully, Petra reached the dragon first and was able to temporarily stun it with her signature "slash down" technique. The north squad, unfortunately, had a much rougher go at it since no one had a bow and most of the people there were magic users (something most of the monsters were immune to. However, that didn't stop the co-empresses from using the Sword of the Creator to do as much damage to that dragon as possible. Despite this, however, the dragon was able to take most of Korrina's hits and respond with an attack of its own that launched Korrina back a few meters. Things were looking bad for the north squad, but then an explosion occurred where the left squad was fighting their dragon. Korrina remembered buying a few carts full of explosives for the attack on Arianrhod, but she didn't think they would be that effective. The dragon that got caught in that explosion was dead, and all the noise attracted the attention of the nearby monsters. Thankfully, this included the dragon that Korrina was fighting. That dragon flew right at the left squad, but Shamir noticed the gashes in its scales from where Korrina had sliced it and concentrated all her firepower into them. Two dragons were now dead, and the mission suddenly seemed more bearable. Meanwhile in the right squad, Raphael and Alois were pounding away at the mask their xenomorph was wearing. Alois had a hunch that the masks had to be concealing a critical weakpoint, so he gave his squad the order to focus all their firepower on that specific region. He was right, too. Once the mask was off, the xenomorph's defenses became nonexistent and Bernadetta was able to finish the job with a well-placed arrow to the eyes. As it fell, Lorenz began to wonder if these monsters could also be affected by magic once the masks were off. From there, the top and left squads converged and moved in on the xenomorph attacking the dark mage in that area where the Black Eagles fought Kronya 5 years ago. It was probably too late to save the dark mage in the top right corner, but it couldn't be helped. All the Black Eagle Strike force could do was try to finish the xenomorph in the center before the dragon that just killed that dark mage came for them. Luckily, Korrina and Edelgard were more accustomed to fighting enemies on the ground and were able to break the xenomorph's mask with only one or two hits. From there, taking it down was a cinch. Meanwhile, the right squad began to follow the other xenomorph closer to their starting point, and lucked out when they found that the dark mage that xenomorph was fighting had taken refuge in the nearest possible entrance to the forest. This in turn forced the xenomorph to tear down that part of the forest tree by tree in an effort to flush out the dark mage and leave it wide open for an attack. Bernadetta used this opportunity to shoot the clutches holding the mask to the xenomorph's head while it wasn't looking. The mask then fell off, and the dark mage it was fighting was finally able to use his spells to great effect. Lorenz then came in and cast a spell that caused the ground to erupt beneath the xenomorph's feet, causing massive damage. Alois then rushed in to deal the finishing blow with an axe to the back. All that remained now was the dragon headed towards the rest of the Black Eagle Strike Force. Noticing the way the previous dragon fell, the Black Eagle Strike force developed a plan of attack. Korrina used the Sword of the Creator to slice open the dragon's armor, and then everyone else would fire a ton of arrows into the gaps created by Korrina. The plan worked, but this dragon seemed more resilient than the others. While all this was happening, the remaining squad caught up with the others and knocked off this dragon's mask too. Lorenz then let everyone know that the mask was what was making the monsters immune to magic. From there, everyone let out a combined offensive and annihilated the last dragon in a torrent of dark magic, fire magic, thunder magic, bows, and the Sword of the Creator. The day was saved. Not all the dark mages made it out alive, but at least the surrounding villages were no longer threatened by these beasts.

Annoyingly, though, Thales and his followers were not exactly the most grateful people around. Some of the dark mages were embarrassed to be saved by "the likes of" the Black Eagle Strike Force. To that, Edelgard asked the dark mages if they had rather not been saved at all. The dark mages saw her point and reluctantly decided to reward her with a unique magical weapon called the Arrow of Indra. Thales was not much kinder, either. Rather than being thankful that his mess was cleaned up for him without too many casualties, he insulted Korrina and Edelgard to their faces for letting some of his men die. Edelgard tried to explain that the monsters were too powerful to reasonably save everyone, but Thales wrote her off. Thales then proceeded to write off the Black Eagle Strike Force as useless to him before attempting to take his leave, but Korrina was not about to let him have the satisfaction of getting in the last word. Korrina said, "Don't get too full of yourself, Thales. The only reason you were even able to create those abominations in the first place was because the dumb *# vampire permitted it to. If it were up to my sister and I, you would not have made it this far into the war at all. Remember that going forward." Thales was much better at subtlety, though, and only responded with a dismissive grunt before leaving. Once Thales was gone, Hubert grabbed Korrina by the neck. He could tolerate being called a vampire. If anything, Hubert was delighted to have that kind of reputation for himself. However, Hubert would never allow anyone to call him a dumb *$. He worked hard to restore House Vestra's (his house's) reputation and relations with House Hresvelg after his father (Marquis Vestra) sold out Ionius 9th during the Insurrection of the Seven, and he was not about to let anyone undermine that with questions about his intelligence. With the closest thing to genuine anger that Hubert ever expressed, he asked, "Dumb#*% vampire, was it? Do you really think I have just been a little toady for Thales like my father was for Lord Aegir? No. I only kept Thales and his kind around because we needed the extra numbers in the beginning of the war and so that I could study their technology, methods, and secrets up close. When Rhea falls, I have every intention of betraying Thales and bringing him to justice for his crimes against Lady Edelgard. In the meantime, I insist that you never use that vulgar, demeaning word to describe me again." Edelgard then put her hand on Hubert's shoulder and said, "That's enough, Hubert. You made your point clearly." Hubert looked at Edelgard thinking that she was taking Korrina's side on this, then dropped Korrina, closed his eyes and said, "yes your majesty." Edelgard made it clear that the only reason Hubert would not be facing serious punishment for his little outburst was because he was the only one that could continue his investigation of Thales before turning to Korrina and confirmed that Hubert was indeed intending to betray Thales once the war ended or he figured out all his secrets (whichever came first). It may be agonizing to work with someone like Thales, but until the time came, they would all just have to bear it a little while longer.

The stress was rising during the preparations for Arianrhod, and for good reason. The Adestrian Army was slowly regaining its numbers, but still wasn't quite ready for a full on invasion of Faerghus, rumors of tension between the co-empresses and Hubert as well as Korrina's breakdown earlier in the month had some in the Black Eagle Strike Force wondering if their leaders would even be able to hold it together, their next target was Arianrhod (a place rumored to be impenetrable), and the final battle against Rhea and Dimitri (two of the most powerful and psychotic individuals in the world at that point in time) was drawing ever closer. If it wasn't for Alois, Albein, Raphael and Caspar trying to keep everyone's spirits up, things could have easily come apart right at the end here. There was a silver lining, though. Because Arianrhod was originally built by the Adestrian Empire, blueprints for the place still existed somewhere in Enbarr. Because of this, the Black Eagle Strike Force was able to conduct an extensive study of the place and figure out the best plan of entry without having to do any trial and error the day of. It turned out that there were two entrances to Arianrhod: the usual front entrance, as well as a secret exit that lead into the heart of the fortress. Thus, the Black Eagle Strike Force decided that they would carry out this assault like an assassination. A vast majority of the troops would go in the main entrance and draw the attention of everyone inside. While the main defense force (likely led by Felix's father Rodrigue) is distracted, a smaller division consisting of Dorothea, Manuela, Hanneman, Lorenz and Raphael would sneak in through the secret exit and take out Cornelia while no one is looking. Everyone was sure that Cornelia had some sort of counter strategy for this, and the plan depended on multiple variables and assumptions coming together at once, but at the time, this seemed like the Black Eagle Strike Force's only hope for a victory. Thus, the plan was unanimously agreed on. The rest of the month was spent training as much as possible. Any top-secret techniques that still evaded the Black Eagle Strike Force were obtained during this time. Even Korrina was mentally preparing herself for the fact that she would no longer be able to save anyone. When the time came to move out, spirits were not exactly high, but much higher than they were at the beginning of the month.

The way to Arianrhod took the Black Eagle Strike Force down a familiar route: Magdred way. A lot of the Black Eagle Strike Force did not have pleasant memories of this place, as it is where they fought Lord Lonato and experienced their first taste of moral grey 5 years ago. It was almost crazy to think of how much was different back then. Back then, Lord Lonato was the enemy. Now, the Black Eagle Strike Force was on their way to finish what they started. Lonato may have been mad with grief at the time, but if he just held off his revenge for another year, maybe he would have had more people who actually would have heard him out. It couldn't be helped though. Cornelia likely wouldn't wait for everyone to get through looking at the past and Rodrigue certainly wasn't going to wait. This was the time for everyone to steel themselves. As Arianrhod got closer, Hubert prepared everyone by reminding them of Arianrhod's history. Arianrhod was indeed constructed by Adestria as a front-line base for the war against Faerghus at that time. However, the head of the project (House Rowe) had far more treacherous designs for Arianrhod. Once it was completed and House Rowe moved in, they sweared fealty to House Blaiddyd, killed everyone inside who was still loyal to Adestria as proof of their intentions, and then proceeded to use the place as a base of operations for invading Adestria instead. The only reason the Black Eagle Strike Force still had access to the blueprints was because Hubert was able to find the one spare copy that wasn't destroyed. Korrina scowled at this tale of treachery and betrayal and said, "Those honorless serpents…but worry not. By the end of the day, this black mark on Adestrian history will be forever erased. Today, we shall do the impossible, and conquer an "unconquerable" fortress. Once we do, everyone in this kingdom will know their chances of victory are slim. Long live the Adestrian Empire!" Everyone repeated this statement, and Caspar especially seemed full of energy after hearing that. Satisfied with the response, Korrina said, "Now. Arianhod is right before your eyes. Remember the plan and spare no one. From here on out, no mercy!"

Korrina did much to raise morale in the minutes leading up to the attack on Arianrhod, but reality would quickly manifest. Felix was the one who awaited the Black Eagle Strike Force at the gates, and he was dramatically stronger than he was 5 years ago. The first battle of the day would be against Felix and the Fraldarius cavalry accompanying him. The cavalry lived up to its reputation, but a few well-placed magic traps from Hubert and Lysithea took them out rather quickly. Felix, however, was another story entirely. Right off the bat, Felix charged at Korrina and challenged her to single combat in hopes of finally satisfying his urge to face her in battle. Korrina held her own for as long as possible, but Felix wouldn't stop attacking. Before long, Korrina was mortally wounded and left with no choice but to use Divine Pulse before she died. For a while, Felix proved to be nigh unstoppable. Even Ferdinand with the heaviest armor he could buy eventually fell to Felix's superior speed and technique. Thus, Korrina changed tactics and started fighting dirty. This time, the Black Eagle Strike Force approached the gates of Arianrhod but did not give any indication that they were there for a fight. Felix approached Korrina with confusion as to what she was doing, and when he got close enough, Korrina "sucker punched" him by extending the Sword of the Creator right through his chest. Felix tried to take Korrina down with him, but now that his momentum was broken, he couldn't quite recover. Felix died shortly afterward, but his final words were for Korrina. Barely holding it together, Felix asked Korrina to kill the "boar" before the life faded from his eyes and mouth. It was obvious that Felix was referring to Dimitri as that was what he often called him back when they were students, but no one ever thought Felix was that serious about it. It was enough to make Korrina wonder if there was a way she could have saved him, but it was too late for serious reflection. The Fraldarius cavalry was launching its counterattack, and everyone only had a few seconds to think.

The Fraldarius cavalry was wiped out as quickly as it was the last few Divine Pulses, but now Rodrigue was right behind them. Rodrigue, too, had access to a powerful form of light magic that allowed him to make searing columns of light, and he used them where the Black Eagle Strike Force was at its most packed. Not everyone could avoid the columns of light in time, but everyone narrowly survived. Before he could become a major threat, Korrina turned the Sword of the Creator into its whip form and cut Rodrigue and his horse in half. "There's no other way", Korrina whispered to herself as everyone healed back up in preparation to enter the fortress. On the other end, the smaller force had learned that Cornelia had indeed taken the secret exit into consideration. Multiple great knights were stationed in that part of the fortress, each more powerful than the last. Thankfully, this was why Raphael was a part of the smaller division: to take out any threats that came their way. They pushed through the great knights, but quickly found themselves with an even bigger problem on their hands. Cornelia had prepared multiple giant robots (?) called Titanus to guard Arianrhod, and one of them was right where the secret exit lead into the main part of the fortress. Until further notice, the assassination of Cornelia had to be put on hold in favor of a more formal invasion. Once the Black Eagle Strike Force entered Arianrhod proper, they found that the path had split into four. Not only that, but some of the floor consisted of spike traps. Petra could fly over them without a problem, but the rest would need to move quickly. Korrina, Caspar, Lindhardt, Lysithea, Shamir and Bernadetta went to the right. Everyone else went to the left. Multiple generals were cleverly stationed between the spike traps but the only thing difficult about taking them out were the spike traps around them. The head of House Rowe, a prideful old man by the name of Gwendal, tried ambushing Edelgard's forces. However, Edelgard turned to face him and easily cut him down using her axe. The real problem was the Titanus that patrolled the fortress. Their sword arms could cut through multiple soldiers at once, and their shields could defend against nearly any attack. Their only forseeable weaknesses seemed to be the head and legs. Petra was able to fly high enough to bash in the head of one of the Titanus with her axe, but that only drew the attention of the Pegasus knights patrolling the area. Leading those forces was none other than Ingrid, and she had her family's relic: a lance called Luuin. Petra was forced to take cover and hide among the other forces while they all found a way to deal with them and the now defective Titanus. Ingrid directed her forces at Edelgard since she was the leader, but that proved to be a mistake. Ingrid had the mobility advantage, but once she moved in for an attack, she was knocked off her Pegasus and killed in one hit. Once the Titanus and other Pegasus knights were taken care of, Edelgard noticed a switch in the back and flipped it. This seemed to deactivate the spike traps, clearing the way for everyone to move safely through Arianrhod. Korrina's team, on the other hand was not faring too well. Most of the Titanus were specifically placed on the right side of the fortress, which meant that Korrina had to face them all down one after another. Korrina was able to eventually take out the one guarding the emergency exit and clear the way for the smaller force, but then they were all bottlenecked by another Titanus that was literally in the next room. This seemed like the end for Korrina, but then Edelgard's forces came in and ambushed the Titanus from the back. Since the Titanus was facing Korrina's forces, its back was vulnerable and completely turned to Edelgard's forces. Edelgard wasted no time exploiting this critical design flaw, and before long, the last Titanus was finished off. The battle was not over yet though. As soon as the Black Eagle Strike Force fully reunited in the central chamber, warriors and mages surrounded them on every side. Luckily, though, Cornelia's arrogance had caused her to give away her own position at the top of the stairwell as she boasted about how they came so far for nothing. Korrina used this chance to bypass the warriors and mages, climb up the stairs, and slay Cornelia. She moved so quickly that Cornelia didn't even have time to counter with the most basic of magic. Once the warriors and mages at the bottom saw what happened, they all ran away or surrendered. For the first time in history, Arianrhod had fallen. Another division of the Adestrian Army took control of the place to use as their base while the Black Eagle Strike Force prepared to return to Garreg Mach.

The moment the Black Eagle Strike Force was safely outside Arianrhod, they were confronted by Thales. He congratulated Edelgard and Korrina on capturing Arianrhod and the sheer amount of tact and treachery needed to achieve such a feat. Unfortunately, Thales was not entirely there for empty congratulations. It turned out that Cornelia was a subordinate of his and was supposed to betray the Kingdom of Faerghus and take Arianrhod for them. However, Korrina was not buying it. Without hesitation, Korrina said, "I highly doubt that was the case. If Cornelia was truly on our side, she would have programmed her Titanus to attack the soldiers stationed there instead of us. She didn't even try to dissuade us from killing her when we were in the same room. No. If Cornelia was truly planning to betray the Kingdom of Faerghus, it certainly wasn't for our sake." Despite having a hole blown straight through his logic, however, Thales continued to act like the Black Eagle Strike Force was incompetent and said that their future looked grim if they continued on their current path. Before leaving, Thales made a thinly veiled threat about how Adestria may become another Arianrhod in the future. Just after Arundel left, a massive pillar of light came down from the sky and landed where Arianrhod was. The fortress, and all the soldiers located there, were completely annihilated. Korrina looked on in horror as the scene unfolded, her only words being a question of whether this was Rhea's true power. Hubert doubted this, though. He said that the Valley of Torment was originally destroyed by a massive beam of light, resulting in the land being thrust wide open. Hubert said that hours of research had eventually resulted in the conclusion that Thales was also behind this (even if the details were still fuzzy). Finally, Thales had shown his true colors. He didn't care about the Adestrian Empire at all, and would gladly impede their progress out of unfounded revenge. This was undoubtedly an act of revenge for killing Cornelia, and this fact enraged the co-empresses. Without a moment's hesitation, Edelgard said, "Thales is no longer our ally. He has impeded our progress, destroyed a valuable stronghold, killed hundreds of our men, and endangered the lives of both co-empresses in this act. Hubert, freeze all of Thales's assets and detain him for questioning. Now." Hubert asked Edelgard if it was truly wise to make an enemy of Thales while the Church of Seiros and the Kingdom of Faerghus remained, but it was clear that he was no longer in a position to negotiate either. Hubert reluctantly left to do his duty while everyone headed back to Garreg Mach in a state of genuine outrage. All that hard work was rendered meaningless, and Thales was going to pay for this.


	18. Tempest of Rage

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Chapter 18: Tempest of Rage

Edelgard wanted to keep the destruction of Arianrhod under wraps, as she feared that the outrage would divert everyone's attention from Rhea at a time when everyone needed to be focusing on Rhea. Despite this, the sheer scale of the spell used to destroy Arianrhod ensured that everyone got some sort of idea as to what really transpired. Calls for Arundel's removal from power began to fill the air of Garreg Mach, and anyone who even looked like a follower of him was kicked out of the monastery. This protest got so bad that Hubert needed to drag Arundel through the street just to prove that his loyalty was still with the Adestrian Empire. Afterwards, Edelgard made a speech about her "uncle's" crimes against the empire and set his trial date to the day after she returns from her assault on Fhirdiad. Korrina then followed the two into the Death Knight's former hideout, where Arundel was to be held prisoner until further notice.

The moment Arundel was certain he was out of the public eye, he revealed his true form (Thales) and exploded. He repeatedly demanded to know why he was being treated so indignantly. Korrina then went inside Thales's cell and said, "I knew it. You were the one behind my father's death, weren't you?" This caused Thales to think that Korrina's treatment of him was entirely because of this and laughed. He asked if this was really about something that happened 5 years ago. Korrina responded to this with a firm, "No. This is about your careless destruction of Arianrhod and the deaths of everyone stationed there. Do you have any idea how much you set us back?" Much to Korrina's ire, Thales did not believe that this was a big deal either. He simply responded by saying, "Setback? I beg to differ. Without Cornelia, Arianrhod was useless to me. Thus, I removed it." Korrina asked what about all the troops that Edelgard stationed at Arianrhod and asked if they meant nothing to him. Thales confirmed this and said that they were just disposable fools anyway. According to Thales, all they did was hold him back. Korrina was absolutely horrified at the sheer callousness on display with this statement. It explained why Thales had no issues with experimenting on Edelgard or turning so many innocent people into monsters, but it still took Korrina a moment to truly process that someone so vile and heartless could possibly exist. After a moment of trying to wrap her head around what she just heard (something that Thales felt the need to mock), Korrina finally said, "I truly cannot believe this. Is anything sacred to you, or are we all just experiment fodder for whatever monster you want to create next?" Thales corrected her and said, "That's not completely true you know. I exist to serve the interests of my fellow Agarthans, Cornelia included." Most would stop the interrogation to ask what an Agarthan was, but Korrina did not truly care to waste time on that rabbit hole. All she wanted to know at that moment was what those interests might be. Thales then replied by saying, "The reclamation of our fine land from the 'goddess' who stole it from us. We were hoping that you would be more considerate of us than Seiros, but you turned out to be just as prejudiced as she was." Korrina then got enraged herself and said, "Prejudiced?! You turn my people into monsters and confess that you have no regard for our lives, yet I'm supposed to be the prejudiced one here!?" Thales then said, "Yes. Get mad at me like you do with everyone else who fails to meet your expectations. All you have proven with your folly is that you aren't as different from Seiros as you claim to be." Before Thales could go any further, Korrina slapped him. It was something that she wanted to do ever since Thales got the idea that he was somehow superior to her. Korrina then said, "This whole time, I have tried to be reasonable. I may have kept you on a short leash, but that's because we here in Adestria don't like being experimented on and turned into monsters. In case you haven't been paying attention, I have also been quite merciful for most of this war. It might have been a mistake, but I was able to save a few noteworthy lives. How does this make me as bad as someone who openly tried to kill me and my sister over a small disagreement!?" Thales refused to answer this question, and Korrina eventually realized that she was just falling into another one of his traps. Thus, Korrina sort of regained her composure and brought in Shamir. With a strained voice, Korrina said, "This is Shamir, the finest assassin I know of. She will be watching you for the remainder of the month. You try to pull anything, and you'll be killed before you know it. Your trial will be the day after we return from Fhirdiad." As Korrina left, Thales said, "The Agarthans will not stand for this, you know! Once they hear of this, they will kill you all when you least expect it!" Korrina replied by saying, "Thales, if you really think that that is how it will end, you clearly don't know what our own spies are capable of." Korrina then left Thales in that cell. Though she wished it were so, this would not be the last time they saw each other.

Now that the Adestrian Empire was down to only a few thousand men (something that Thales played a large part in), Korrina and Edelgard were left with no choice but to stake it all on one final invasion of Fhirdiad. No more games. No more side objectives. The Black Eagle Strike Force was just going to march through the Tailtean plains and take the fight directly to the capital. A smaller force led by Lorenz and Raphael had already been dispatched to take the land held by House Fraldarius before Rhea and Dimitri could reclaim it, so the Adestrian Army still had something resembling a foothold in Faerghus. Fortunately, Rhea and Dimitri were not much better off. Despite being able to take out a large percentage of the Adestrian Army, they were still losing more and more land each day. They outnumbered the Adestrian Army, but not by a significant amount. Also, the loss of Cornelia, Ingrid and especially all of House Fraldarius at Arianrhod did much to lower morale. It was highly likely that Dimitri and Rhea, too, were going to stake it all on one final battle. It was obvious to nearly everyone that Dimitri and Rhea were planning to intercept the Black Eagle Strike Force at the Tailtean Plains and kill the co-empresses. Fhirdiad no longer had the resources to wait out a siege, and the only remaining place to run was a dead-end peninsula to the north with only a small desert and nothing else. Also, the Tailtean Plains were of great historical significance to the Church of Seiros. It was where Seiros originally defeated Nemesis 1000 years ago, and it was where Dimitri's ancestor killed Edelgard's ancestor and gained full independence from Adestria 400 years ago. What better place for a last stand than a place that has brought them good fortune twice in the past? Hubert insisted that Edelgard and Korrina not be a part of this invasion and instead go with Lorenz and Raphael instead as their faction would not see as much fighting. Hubert's rationale was that Dimitri and Rhea would focus primarily on killing Edelgard and Korrina respectively, so the threat to their lives (and the future of Adestria, by proxy) was far too great. However, neither of the co-empresses would hear it. It was largely thanks to Korrina that the Black Eagle Strike Force was in a position for victory (albeit a very narrow position), so having her pull back now would only set up the Black Eagle Strike Force for failure at a time when they needed to win more than ever. Thus, Hubert relented and prayed for their safety.

Once Hubert was out of hearing range, Edelgard let out a large sigh of relief and complained about how much of a handful he could be at times. In a rare display of solidarity, though, Korrina said, "I can understand what Hubert was trying to say, though. Had we not been as integral to our team's many victories, I might have agreed with him in that one occasion." Edelgard then corrected herself by saying that Hubert was always like that since the day Thales sent her back to Enbarr. Edelgard started trying to impersonate Hubert for a moment, but Korrina chuckled at the inaccuracy. Edelgard looked puzzled and asked, "What's wrong? Wasn't my impression of Hubert spot on?" Korrina responded by saying, "No. Hubert is a lot quieter than that…except for when he got mad at me that one time." Edelgard responded with a solemn "I see…" before changing the subject and thanking Korrina for her efforts in taking out Cornelia and helping take Arianrhod. Edelgard was beginning to wonder if her sister was really mentally equipped to continue the fight and help rule Adestria, but it seemed as if the results of the previous week said otherwise. Korrina changed tone and said, "I wouldn't say it was easy, though. Even now, my failure to protect Hilda, Seteth, and Flayn haunts my nightmares." Edelgard sort of understood where Korrina was coming from. She would be lying if she said that she didn't feel anything when word broke out that Flayn was among the people killed in that battle. Edelgard then said, "I suppose deep down inside, I wanted the fighting to end with that attack on the monastery 5 years ago. I, too, was hoping that this many innocent people would not have to die in the process. But…what's done is done. If we hold on to the past for too long, we'll only end up losing ourselves to grief like Rhea did." Korrina understood all too well, as she came dangerously close to that threshold when Flayn was killed by their own men a few months ago. Even so, Korrina could not shake the feeling that the both of them had a fiery afterlife awaiting them for all the people that died in this war they started. Edelgard responded with an unsure "Then we'll just have to do a lot of good after this war is over to make up for it. Besides, no one really knows what the afterlife is like, or even if there is a god at all." Korrina understood what her sister and co-empress was trying to say, but she couldn't believe it. These past few months, Korrina had begun to embrace the possibility that maybe she isn't the real goddess at all. Maybe there's a god beyond Sothis, and the people had simply forgot about him during the age of Seiros. Edelgard confessed that that could be a possibility, even if the things she went through had caused her to doubt the goodness of whatever god truly existed. Before taking her leave, Edelgard gave Korrina the portrait that she had been working on for a few months. It was admittedly a source of embarrassment for Edelgard, but she thought it might help ease Korrina's mind before the final battle. Edelgard then said, "Even if you lost yourself like Rhea did, and left us with no choice but to depose of you as well, you will always be my dear sister. I love you Korrina." The two embraced, and Korrina said, "I love you too Edelgard. When I get some time, I'll do a portrait of you in return".

As preparations for the final battle went fully underway, a pattern began to emerge with all the people that Korrina spoke with: what would happen once the war finished. Manuela was worried that she would be single forever. Lysithea wondered if the end of the Church of Seiros would truly bring an end to the fighting. Lindhardt feared that these final pushes from both sides would endanger the lives of those caught in between. Petra debated if she had truly progressed enough to become a worthy ruler of Brigid. Bernadetta worried that she wasn't taking these preparations seriously enough if this truly was the final battle. Alois pondered what Jeralt would think if he saw the type of person that Korrina would become. The only one who wasn't in deep thought was Caspar, who was mostly just excited to get this over with. Korrina tried to address everyone's concerns as best as she could, though Lysithea's question really made Korrina think for a moment. After the Church of Seiros was dealt with, would they have to face the Agarthans that Thales warned about? Was Thales just trying to fill Korrina's head with doubts when he gave that warning, or was he being truthful? Also, did Thales really speak for the Agarthans, or was his kind just an extremist branch? There wasn't enough time to truly think about that. For now, all that mattered was grabbing the finest weapons and armor that money could buy and training everyone to their maximum extent. Korrina in particular used her powers to try to see the fight between Seiros and Nemesis. After all, Korrina sincerely believed that Rhea was Seiros in disguise and that she would likely use the same fighting style she utilized 1000 years ago. Through these flashbacks, Korrina learned that Seiros countered the Sword of the Creator's long range by closing the distance and relentlessly attacking so that it would be impossible for Nemesis to truly unleash its whip form in a meaningful way. The moment Nemesis got smart enough to step back and get far enough away for him to actually use the Sword of the Creator's whip form, Seiros allowed him to catch her sword so that she could throw it away and switch to a smaller dagger. Korrina was somewhat shocked to see how great of a brawler Seiros was as she tackled Nemesis, punched him in the face, then kicked him to the ground before using that dagger to finish the job. Even 1000 years ago, the sheer ferocity that Seiros displayed as she fought was a sight to behold. It would take a long time for her to develop a counter to such a fighting style.

In the week leading up to the final battle, Korrina found herself with one last free day before heading out. Korrina used some of this time to reflect on her time with Jeralt. Even if she never 100% forgave him for making her grow up a mercenary, she could at least understand why he did what he did. Korrina remembered what Alois said about what her father would have thought of her being the leader of the opposition against Rhea, and now she had her answer. Jeralt probably would have stood by his daughter and fought with him until the very end. Korrina also remembered Jeralt's final request. To find the ring he left behind and give it to someone that she could love in the same way that Jeralt loved her mother. Korrina wasn't quite sure how Jeralt loved her mother, but she had no doubt about who she loved. Later that day, Korrina walked up to her love Albein. Albein was somewhat miffed that Arianrhod was kept a secret from him, but after a quick explaination from Korrina, he understood. More importantly, Korrina had something to ask of him. Korrina then said, "You know how Edelgard considers me her rock? Well, you are my rock. If it wasn't for you, my sister and Alois, I would have collapsed under the weight of this war long ago. Thus, I have one more thing to ask of you, Alm." Korrina then gave Albein the ring, and he knew exactly what Korrina was about to say. Korrina then got emotional as she said, "Alm, when this is over, I…I want to marry you. You were the first to welcome me to this monastery, and your greetings and farewells kept me together during the toughest of times. You give me faith in this world, and that's why I continued to pick myself up no matter what happened. There's no one in this world I would rather be with than you." Albein graciously accepted, as Korrina was the first person to ever truly give him the time of day or really want to know him as a person. They then kissed in front of the monastery doors.

That night, Korrina took Alois fishing like they would sometimes do. Alois was quite grateful that the war was over, as he couldn't stand the thought of slaying another comrade in arms. Korrina responded by saying, "I know exactly how you feel. Losing Flayn…well, let's just say I haven't been able to sleep well since." Alois agreed, and even wondered if they would still have a pleasant afterlife after all this. Korrina responded by saying, "Only God can answer that." Alois looked at his niece with a confused expression and said, "God? Who's that?" Korrina responded by saying, "I've been thinking for a long time, and I've come to realize that neither I nor Seiros may be the true god of this world. If we were, we wouldn't be able to die, nor would we be as fallible as we are. Besides, no matter what our more religious comrades tell you, there is only so much I can do with my powers. There has to be something out there more powerful than I lurking out there. We may meet it someday, or we may not. All we can do is trust it for now." Alois didn't seem to follow Korrina's line of thought, but he did at least respect her outlook. Korrina then comforted Alois by changing the subject and saying, "Don't worry about Jeralt. If he were alive, he would still be fighting alongside him." Alois responded with a confused, "Are you sure? Him and Rhea went way back, you know." Korrina said, "It wasn't that simple", before going on to explain what precisely led to Jeralt breaking off from Rhea. This greatly put Alois's mind at ease, as he now knew that Jeralt would have at least supported the war to a degree. Korrina finally told Alois the reason she was hanging with him that night. She said, "Uncle, this may be shocking to you, but I'm getting married." Alois was a bit surprised, but Korrina could tell from his joking that he was happy for her. When Alois started asking who it was, Korrina responded by saying Albein. Alois cracked a smile at this and continued joking, for he always approved of the lad since they started looking for Korrina's body together. The longer Albein persisted, the more Alois was convinced that this was the one for her. Korrina smiled back and said, "Alois, you know how fathers usually walk their daughters down the isle for these weddings? Well since Jeralt was killed, I was wondering if you could walk me down the isle in his place." Alois then began to sob tears of joy, for this was the highest honor anyone had ever given him. The wedding was on…as soon as Korrina got back from Fhirdiad.

As Magdred Way gave way to the Tailtean Plains, a massive storm began to stir. These conditions were exactly the same as when Seiros fought against Nemesis a full millennium ago. Whether this was going to be a case of history repeating itself, however, was a thing that Korrina preferred to wait until the battle was over before fully deciding. Besides, both co-empresses were extremely confident in their chances at victory. Even if Dimitri and Rhea claimed victory that day, a smaller force led by Lorenz was on his way to take Fhirdiad as they spoke. For those reasons, everyone believed that an Adestrian victory was inevitable. That didn't mean that Dimitri was going to make things easy, though. One of the first things that the Black Eagle Strike Force noticed was that only the Faerghus banner was flying among the enemy ranks. This could either mean that the Knights of Seiros were left behind to hold Fhirdiad or that they were moving in a different direction in an effort to flank the Black Eagle Strike Force. Whichever scenario was likely, however, it was still a bad idea for the Black Eagle Strike Force to lower their guard. As everyone got into position, the co-empresses began to discuss how much Dimitri had changed these 5 years. Edelgard remembered how honorable Dimitri used to be, often announcing his presence before fighting. Korrina simply chuckled and said, "You and I remember Dimitri quite differently, sister. The Dimitri I knew seemingly transformed into a monster once he entered combat, screaming and laughing as he single handedly ravaged entire armies. Half the time I saw that lad, he had to be restrained." These words seemed to unnerve most of the Black Eagle Strike Force, who were already dreading the inevitable showdown with him. Thus, Korrina said, "Leave Dimitri to Edelgard and I. He's too powerful, and too violent for any normal human to even survive in battle." This idea seemed to set most of the Black Eagle Strike Force at ease, and Korrina began her final speech. She said, "Black Eagle Strike Force, 5 years ago, we challenged the Blue Lions in combat and won. All that has changed from then is the absence of the Golden Deer as a threat and the rain. Just because Dimitri has gotten stronger doesn't mean that we haven't. I have no doubt that we can win. We defeated the Blue Lions 5 years ago, and today, we'll defeat them again. Once again, the eagle will soar and the lion will sleep! Long live the Adestrian Empire!" The entire Black Eagle Strike Force (save for Silvain, who desperately tried to hide his reservations about fighting his former king and friend) repeated those last words and rushed into combat against the Blue Lions for the last time.

The first order of business was crossing the river that separated the Adestrian Army from Dimitri's army. Wading through the river was quite the unpleasant affair (especially since it was raining outside), but it was by far the easiest of the tasks that needed to be accomplished that day. Originally, Petra was meant to fly over to the side of the river and deal with some of the swordsmen and great knights positioned to the east. However, all this did was unveil the kingdom's final bid for victory before it was time. The great knight closest to Petra jumped off his horse, grabbed a crest stone out of his bag and clutched it tightly. Within the span of a minute, that great knight was gone and a xenomorph took his place. This in turn forced the Black Eagle Strike Force to reconfigure their strategy and change direction while in that nasty river to give Petra support in this time of great need. Bernadetta, Lysithea, Caspar and Manuela were all sent to aid Petra in dealing with that xenomorph. Even before they got out of the riverbank, Bernadetta was able to shoot a bunch of arrows at the xenomorph to divert its attention away from Petra while she dealt with the other great knight. Once everyone reached the side of the river where that xenomorph was, Caspar went straight to work pounding the xenomorph's mask in while Lysithea kept the swordsmen at bay with her magic. Once the mask was gone, Petra, Lysithea and Bernadetta joined Caspar for a 4-way strike that finished the beast once and for all. However, none of them were convinced that that was the only crest stone hiding among the enemy ranks. Everyone would need to be more careful going forward.

Soon afterwards, things went from bad to worse. Mercedes arrived with reinforcements the moment everyone arrived at the other side of the river. Korrina's heart sank at the thought of yet another innocent that would die in this war, and from the sound of it, even Dimitri wanted her off the battlefield at once. Pegasus knights began to charge at the Black Eagle Strike Force from the north. Their numbers were daunting, but nothing the Black Eagle Strike Force couldn't handle at this point. However, it was at this point that the Knights of Seiros began to show themselves. Worse still, the Knights of Seiros had arrived from the south and east: 2 areas that ensured the Black Eagle Strike Force was completely surrounded. Petra and the units sent to assist her were in the most trouble by far, as Rhea herself came in right on their side of the river. With the tides beginning to turn against them, Korrina had everyone on that side pull back and focus on the Pegasus knights that Mecredes brought with her. Meanwhile, Korrina took a few of her finest warriors and left to deal with Rhea personally while everyone else tried to push forward through all the Pegasus reinforcements. This plan quickly proved misguided, however, as two of the men waiting on the other side of those Pegasus knights had crest stones of their own. The transformations distracted Korrina and provided Rhea with the opportunity she needed to force her on the defensive. The main forces were getting slaughtered by those 2 xenomorphs, and Korrina was getting beaten down by Rhea. If Korrina didn't use Divine Pulse right then and there, the war would have been lost. Because their present situation seemed hopeless, Korrina went all the way back to before the battle began. This time, she was going to use an old tactic from the Great Bridge of Myrddin. The entire Black Eagle Strike force went to the east side of the river this time and waited for Rhea to come so they could take her out of the picture before she became a major threat. This strategy helped keep the Knights of Seiros at bay, but Rhea was only interested in one person: Korrina. When the 2 finally met, Rhea finally confessed that her and Seiros were indeed one and the same. On her end, Korrina did not deny that she had studied that grand battle for Nemesis's point of view for this battle here. This time, Korrina turned the Sword of the Creator into its whip form right off the bat to trick Rhea into allowing it to catch the Sword of Seiros before throwing them both away. Korrina let go of the Sword of the Creator, and approached Rhea before she got a chance to finish her little trick. Rhea anticipated this move and stabbed Korrina in the gut with a smaller dagger, but Korrina accepted the risk and allowed Rhea to kick her down before revealing her own dagger and disarming Rhea. The fight then got dirty as Korrina countered Rhea's melee attacks by slicing her hands and feet with that dagger. Eventually, Korrina was able to bypass the arms and legs and stab Rhea in the chest with that dagger. However, the Knights of Seiros dragged Rhea off before Korrina could deliver the finishing blow. This also caused the Knights of Seiros to retreat and Dimitri's morale to crumble. Now the Black Eagle Strike Force could concentrate all their efforts on Faerghus without any more fear of intervention from the church.

Now with all hands on deck, the Pegasus knights that Mercedes brought with her were easier to deal with now than ever. For the sake of not overloading her forces, Korrina stayed out of reach of the transforming knights until Mercedes and her reinforcements could be properly dealt with. In hopes that she would not have to suffer long in death, Korrina had Bernadetta snipe her from a distance. Thankfully for Korrina and Mercedes, Bernadetta only needed one arrow to finish off the girl. Korrina averted her eyes while this happened, and a lot of the Black Eagle Strike force did it as well. They all understood what fate awaited them for being party to that woman's murder, but if it didn't happen, she would have continued the fight somehow. The only luxury they could afford at that moment was the fact that Dimitri was also quite disheartened by her loss. As the Black Eagle Strike Force turned towards Dimitri's direction, 2 of the knights blocking the path transformed into yet more xenomorphs. Facing 2 of these beasts at the same time was truly an uphill climb, even with the entire Black Eagle Strike Force present. What ended up happening was that the Black Eagle Strike Force fell back to the altar where Mercedes was killed so that they could challenge the xenomorphs from the high ground. The gambit worked, as the height advantage allowed the Black Eagle Strike Force to break both masks in a combined assault and finish the xenomorphs rather quickly. Now only Dedue stood between the Black Eagle Strike Force and Dimitri, but he had a crest stone of his own. Rather than turn into a xenomorph, however, Dedue grew 4 times his normal size and became an armored colossus. The colossus was completely unlike anything that the Black Eagle Strike Force had faced before, but Korrina had in idea for how to beat it. She had the Black Eagle Strike Force surround the colossus and attack it from every direction conceivable. The colossus was able to bat most of the Black Eagle Strike Force away with a casual swipe of its arm, but this failed to stop the units attacking it from the back. Besides, every time the colossus swatted away a member of the Black Eagle Strike Force, they would just come back fully healed a minute later. Eventually, the colossus changed tactics and started smashing the ground. This caused tremors that were devastating at first. However, Korrina answered this by getting away and getting in sneak attacks between the colossus's attacks. After a few rounds of hit and run, the colossus fell. Everyone played a part in this victory. Most of the Black Eagle Strike Force paid no mind to Dedue as they pressed onwards, but Korrina knew the normally gentle giant enough to lament his fate as he slowly turned back to normal and passed on.

After Dedue's passing, Dimitri almost seemed to give up on the battle altogether. He did absolutely nothing as the last of his knights were decimated, leading some to accurately believe that the loss had become too much to bear for him. However, Dimitri quickly regained his determination and fire upon seeing Edelgard reach him at last. The Dimitri Korrina knew and feared came out at last as he roared back to life and charged Edelgard with his own relic, a lance named Areadhbar. Angrily, Dimitri asked Edelgard how long she intended to kill and conquer. Edelgard was still able to parry Dimitri's blind thrusts, but this time, Dimitri was no longer holding back his true nature. No matter what, Areadhbar never fell out of Dimitri's hands. Dimitri continued to fight back with all his strength, and his rage was slowly overcoming Edelgard's more disciplined fighting style. If no one intervened, Edelgard would be in serious trouble. Fortunately, Silvain got his former king's attention just at the right time. Dimitri called Silvain a traitor at the top of his lungs and charged at him with all his strength, but before he could reach Silvain, Korrina grabbed Areadhbar with the Sword of the Creator and said, "Enough! From now on, I'll be your opponent!" Korrina then succeeded in separating Areadhbar from Dimitri, but the fight was nowhere near over. Korrina then lashed the Sword of the Creator in a follow up attack, but Dimitri grabbed the whip, used it to pull Korrina towards him, then socked her in the face with his free hand. With the both of them weaponless (or so it seemed), both sides resorted to old fashioned brawling for the last phase of the fight. Unlike Rhea, Dimitri had absolutely no overconfidence to speak of. Dimitri no longer allowed himself to believe that he would survive this battle at all. He just wanted to take as many people with him as he could. Dimitri's assault was swift and far less predictable than Rhea's. Korrina had absolutely no time to pull out her dagger, as all her strength had to go into Dimitri's never ending series of punches. Even when Korrina was able to use her dagger, Dimitri simply laughed it off and kept going. It was like the man was invincible. Eventually, Korrina finally had to tap into her God Ki to win. A green aura enveloped Korrina's entire body as the ground beneath her turned into a crater. With this extra power, Korrina was finally able to overpower Dimitri as she began to knock him further and further back until Dimitri was literally against a wall. Dimitri readied his final punch, but before he could, Korrina knocked him clean in the jaw. The king of Faerghus was down.

Despite all these injuries and his jaw broken, however, Dimitri still persisted. Slowly, the king of Faerghus began to crawl towards Edelgard, swearing to kill her with his own hands. As he inched closer and closer, Dimitri began to blame the death of his parents entirely on Edelgard. As Dimitri inched closer and closer, the poison he spewed towards Edelgard became more and more venomous. Finally, when Dimitri was within range, Edelgard raised her axe and finished him with her own hands. Even so, Dimitri died anything but peacefully. The battle was unambiguously won. As everyone calmed down from the battle, Korrina asked Edelgard whatever Dimitri was talking about. However, all the explanation Edelgard could give was that Arundel was the true culprit. Korrina was never going to be satisfied with that answer, and she even wished that her Divine Pulse stretched back indefinitely so she could choose the Blue Lions and learn more of what really happened all those years ago. However, there was no longer anything that could be done for Dimitri. The only thing Korrina could do now was follow Rhea to Fhirdiad and finish the war once and for all.


	19. Scorched Legacy (Final)

**Korrina and the Black Eagles**

Final Chapter: Scorched Legacy

After a few hours of marching, the Black Eagle Strike Force finally happened upon Fhirdiad. After 5 long years, victory was finally within reach. Strangely, though, the smaller force led by Lorenz was still outside the city. Korrina asked what they were doing out there, to which Lorenz replied that Catherine was put in charge of defending the city while everyone was out fighting, and no one could really get in on her watch. Korrina responded to this by saying, "We'll see about that. We've beaten Catherine twice in the past. I'm sure we could do it again." Soon afterwards, Hubert appeared with Shamir and Thales. Nobody wanted Thales back on their side after what he did to Arianrhod, but Hubert insisted that they needed the extra manpower for this invasion. Thales wanted to simply observe the battle from a distance, but neither of the co-empresses were ever going to approve of this. Edelgard then told Thales that if he were serious about aiding the Black Eagle Strike Force, he would need to prove it. Thales was not happy about this, but since he was walking on vey thin ice at that moment, he had no choice but to oblige.

Much to everyone's surprise, Fhirdiad was never evacuated at all. It was clear that most of the civilians locked themselves in in anticipation of the coming siege, but there was absolutely no effort put into a proper evacuation. Even Claude bothered to seal off the entrances to his capital city and try to contain all the fighting to the pot area. Here, though, nothing was done to protect the civilians. To many in the Black Eagle Strike Force, this was severely troubling. Even Edelgard tried to call for Rhea's surrender in an effort to reduce the casualties or at the very least draw what remained of the Knights of Seiros outside of the city. For a few minutes, Edelgard's request was met with an ominous and telling silence. None could anticipate what Rhea's response to this request would be though.

Without any warning, the entirety of Fhirdiad exploded in a fire the likes of which had never been seen before. It wasn't the first time the Knights of Seiros had used fire in battle (Seteth himself attempted this in the second battle for Garreg Mach), but this strategy had never been used in a heavily populated city before. It was obvious that Rhea wished to take the Black Eagle Strike Force with her, but no one believed that the civilians of Fhirdiad, who had absolutely nothing to do with this war, needed to share her fate. For this reason, Korrina gave one final denouncement of Rhea before forming a strategy. Korrina noticed that the castle where Dimitri used to live was on a somewhat elevated position where the flames wouldn't reach. With this in mind, Korrina said, "Everyone, head for the castle on top of that hill at once. Since it is not in the immediate vicinity of the fire, it should make for a much safer battleground. If the Knights of Seiros try to stop you, don't waste anymore time than necessary dealing with them. We only have so much time before the city becomes completely engulfed in flames, and when that happens, it will be impossible for any of us to close in on Rhea."

Unlike most battles, no one had the time to split up. With the fires raging and buildings crumbling everywhere, the only option was to zero in on the castle in the back. Predictably, the Knights of Seiros arrived to slow their progress. To make matters worse, Rhea had made some special golems for this occasion. These had more defenses than the golems that the Black Eagle Strike Force had faced 5 years ago, but the surrounding tactic that worked on Dedue worked on the special golems too. The only problem was that there were two golems that they had to worry about at the same time and no high ground to turn to. However, the Black Eagle Strike Force was versatile enough that they could move away from one golem to concentrate on the other. After a few minutes, the golems at the former entrance to Fhirdiad were destroyed, and the Black Eagle Strike Force was free to enter the city proper.

Once inside Fhirdiad, there was absolutely no room for error. Buildings were collapsing everywhere, and the spontaneous timing of them made it impossible to predict when the next would fall. Silvain for one was quite horrified that Rhea would do this to his capital and people. He asked himself if Rhea had no shame or regret as he carefully navigated the remnants of the city. The flames, too, severely restricted movement. The Knights of Seiros, too, did everything to stop the Black Eagle Strike Force and ensure they died alongside the civilians. Multiple snipers and Pegasus knights tried to ambush the Black Eagle Strike Force at every turn, and they didn't have much time to waste fighting. Fortunately, Thales was able to summon some monsters and a few of his dark mages to combat these threats as well as the golems scattered around the crumbling remnants of Fhirdiad. There were still a fair number of great knights charging towards the Black Eagle Strike Force, and the extraordinarily narrow space made it impossible to avoid their attacks. Thus, Caspar and Alois took the lead and smashed those great knights with their axes. The next obstacle was the generals strategically placed on the road that lead to the castle. Lysithea and Lorenz were able to take them out with ease, but the bigger threat was the golem approaching them. The road was heavily guarded, so the usual surrounding tactic could no longer work. Thus, the Black Eagle Strike Force had to fall back on its strongest warriors (the co empresses, Caspar, Ferdinand, Alois, Raphael, and Silvain) to fell the golem before it could do too much damage. From there, the Black Eagle Strike Force took out the remaining generals and made it to the castle where Dimitri once lived.

There were multiple entrances into that castle, but with the fire growing in intensity, the Black Eagle Strike Force only had time for one entrance. Thus, Korrina focused on the nearest entrance: the one protected by Gilbert. As she approached her old comrade, Korrina asked, "Why, Gilbert? Why do you still follow Rhea, even knowing that she's responsible for this?" Gilbert only looked down and said, "I'm afraid I cast myself into this fire long ago. I realize now that I may have been in the wrong, but it is already too late for me. All I can do now is follow his late majesty's final command: to protect Fhirdiad from the likes of you!" With these 2 words, the two commenced their final fight. Gilbert had much stronger armor than previously, but he didn't stand a chance against Korrina. After Korrina powered up, all it took was one slice to stagger the old general. From there, Korrina leaped into the air and stabbed Gilbert in the heart with the Sword of the Creator. The castle interior was a maze filled with mages. The Black Eagle Strike Force had to tread carefully and guess the way to Rhea. Fortunately, Silvain knew the way to the throne room where Rhea was likely waiting.

When the Black Eagle Strike Force located the throne room, Rhea was waiting and already in her dragon form. Several knights blocked the way, but they were easily dealt with. Rhea, on the other hand, would quickly prove to be the toughest enemy Korrina ever faced. The moment Rhea saw Korrina, she demanded the return of her "mother". The only response Korrina could muster was "I am not your mother! I never was!" before leading the charge. As the Black Eagle Strike Force drew ever closer, Rhea spewed a massive white beam from her mouth. Most of the Black Eagle Strike Force was able to leap out of the way in time, but Ferdinand's armor restricted him just enough to take most of the attack. Nearly every healer in the Black Eagle Strike Force tended to him while Edelgard continued the attack on Rhea. Unfortunately, the sound of Rhea's attack alerted every remaining knight to their location. Cyril was the first to ambush the Black Eagle Strike Force, but Bernadetta was able to take him out before he became a massive threat. Catherine was the next to appear. Shamir decided to snipe her before she could make it to the top of the stairwell, but Catherine's rapid movements made it difficult to get a good hit on her. This caused Shamir to change her strategy and shoot Catherine the moment she reached the top. Catherine was able to block one of the arrows with her sword, but Shamir was far quicker than expected. Next, Shamir went for Catherine's sword arm and incapacitated her. From there, Shamir went for the finishing blow and pointed her next arrow right between Catherine's eyes. It was the only time Shamir ever expressed hesitation or remorse, but she was still able to finish the job. Rhea continued to put up a fight as the Knights of Seiros continued to come, and some of the Black Eagle Strike Force began showing signs of fatigue as avoiding Rhea's attacks became more of a chore. Soon, Annette came with her own relic: a magical axe named the Crusher. Annette was clearly angry with the Black Eagle Strike Force for killing her father Gilbert, but there was no time for condolences. All Korrina could do was take a moment to slice Annette with the Sword of the Creator before Rhea could get a chance to attack her. After Annette was gone, most of the Knights of Seiros seemed to be dealt with. All that remained was Ashe, but Ferdinand was able to tank his arrows and finish the lad. With everyone gone, the Black Eagle Strike Force was now free to concentrate on Rhea. Unfortunately, the Black Eagle Strike Force was worn out from all the fighting while Rhea only seemed to get angrier and angrier with each successful hit on her. Thus, Korrina instructed everyone to go for the neck and finish the fight quickly. Thus, Silvain threw the Lance of Ruin that cursed his brother while Ferdinand tossed that Arrow of Indra that Thales gave them into both sides of Rhea's neck. This did massive damage to the dragon, but it was far from enough to kill her. Even Shamir's arrows and the Sword of the Creator weren't doing any fatal blows to Rhea. If this fight did not finish soon, Rhea would narrowly outlive the Black Eagle Strike Force and win this war of attrition. Only one option remained. Korrina would need to use all her God Ki at once and give her life to end Rhea once and for all. Thus, Korrina began to concentrate ALL of her God Ki and told Edelgard to take the Black Eagle Strike Force and get out of Fhirdiad. The fire had mostly died down by now, so evacuating the survivors was also a high priority. After all, this final attack was all but guaranteed to kill all the survivors indiscriminately. Once the entire Black Eagle Strike Force was safely removed from the city as well as whatever civilians survived the inferno, Korrina discharged her entire supply of God Ki in the form of a massive explosion. The sheer force of this explosion was comparable to the atom bombs from our world. Rhea recognized that her life was in danger and tried to fly away, but she only succeeded in getting off the ground before she took the explosion at point blank. With this final effort, the war ended for good.

The explosion from Korrina's final attack could be seen from every corner of the continent. By the time it finally receded, all that remained of Fhirdiad was Rhea's corpse. It was a miracle that Rhea's body was still intact after an explosion that intense, but that was the only thing that survived. As for Korrina, her body was eviscerated from the massive amount of energy released from it. Nothing remained of her, not even the Sword of the Creator. Edelgard, Alois, Albein the Gatekeeper and the rest of the Black Eagle Strike Force were heartbroken by this loss, but it was necessary to finish Korrina's dream. Thanks to Korrina's sacrifice, a world without the relics or Rhea influencing it was finally a reality.

Thales was found guilty and executed for his crimes against the Adestrian Empire and all of humanity. The only reason he was even given a fair trial was for the sake of moving on from Rhea's tyranny. When word of what Rhea did to Fhirdiad got out, most of the Church of Seiros denounced her and left the faith. Most of them now follow Korrina's vision of a god beyond Sothis and hypothesize about what may appease this god. Edelgard married Ferdinand on the grounds that he was the most qualified to lead the new Adestrian Empire (even with the death of Flayn on his hands). Ferdinand spent most of his reign appeasing the families of everyone who died in the war, and Edelgard used her remaining time on the planet trying to integrate the people of Faerghus and Leicester into the empire. Hubert spent the rest of his life protecting the Adestrian Empire from the Agarthans and others who would threaten it. For her magical talent, Lysithea was integrated into Hubert's personal guard and never stopped developing her magic. She died young but was remembered for being one of the greatest sorceresses of her time. Lorenz took over the former alliance portion of the Adestrian Empire while Silvain took over the kingdom portion, as they were the highest ranking people from those regions coming off the end of the war. Hanneman retired after a tip from Hubert opened him up to a variety of tools that made his dream of making crests available to the general public a reality. Lindhart now continues Hanneman's research, but the horrors of war never left his mind. Petra used her connection to Edelgard to peacefully claim independence from Adestria and taught her people the ways of flying as she promised long ago. Brigid now stands as a fierce military power, capable of repelling any invasion. Manuela spent the rest of her life restoring Garreg Mach to its former glory and became its new headmaster upon completion. Bernadetta got a job there as the main gardener and lived the rest of her life in peace. Albein was brokenhearted that his fiancée perished, but nevertheless continued his job as gatekeeper. His greetings hid a certain amount of sadness to them now, but Albein kept at it as he believed that Korrina would have wanted him to go on. Raphael opened up a fitness center in the monastery and now works as its instructor. He now makes a living teaching others how to be as strong as he is. Alois was put in charge of rebuilding Adestria's army and was named its new commander. He still maintained close ties with Shamir, though the relationship was largely one sided. Shamir went back to her old job as a mercenary, but still works with the Adestrian army from time to time. Dorothea decided to turn her war experience into a sweeping opera depicting the co empresses, their relationship and their war against the Church of Seiros. It struggled to get off the ground at first since the war scars were still fresh, but Ferdinand's surprise performance and endorsement of the play helped elevate it to national status. Claude stayed in Almyra and never returned. It was for the better. The deaths of Hilda, Flayn, Seteth, Felix, Ingrid, Mercedes, Annette and Ashe were never forgotten, and they were all memorialized in front of Garreg Mach.

**The End**

**Merry Christmas**

**Thank You For Reading**

Notes

I currently have no plans on doing one of these for the Blue Lions or Golden Deer, as the real point of divergence is far enough away that I would be writing the same story 3 times.


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